Taking The Pulse Of Latino Health Concerns : Shots - Health News : NPR

Taking The Pulse Of Latino Health Concerns : Shots - Health News : NPR: Latino immigrants to the U.S. say the quality and affordability of health care is better in the U.S. than the country they come from, , the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health. But many report having health care problems.

In the last 12 months, 31 percent say they had a serious problem with having enough money to pay for health insurance. About one in four had a serious problem affording doctor and hospital bills and prescription medicines.

When it comes to the health issue that concerns Latinos most about their own and their families' health, diabetes tops the list — whether they were born in the U.S. or immigrated here.When asked in a poll last year what the biggest health problem facing the nation was, they had a different answer: "cancer."

This split may reflect the high prevalence of type 2 diabetes in Hispanic populations. About 10 percent of Latino adults have been diagnosed with it or are in a stage that is often silent called "prediabetes."