Hispanics' Health Issues Called a National Priority

San Antonio, April 20, 2004 - In one of his first public appearances since being installed as U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Richard Carmona stressed partnerships and prevention at a San Antonio summit on Hispanic health disparities.

"We must close the gap on disparities," Carmona told about 150 attending a joint meeting of the American Hispanic Medical Association and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. "We have ample scientific evidence they exist. We must now confront them vigorously."

While getting there will be difficult, he acknowledged, the new surgeon general offered a vision of a culturally sensitive, easily accessible health care system, where physicians and patients share responsibility for promoting healthy behavior.

"We need to embrace our patients; they need to embrace us," he said. "All of us need to take responsibility for our actions and make good decisions."

The meeting at the University of Texas at San Antonio Downtown Campus was the second this week in San Antonio that drew together medical and political leaders for a discussion of the health gaps in the Hispanic community.

Almost 40 percent of Hispanics have no health insurance, and they're less likely to get adequate prenatal care. Hispanics also have higher rates of HIV, tuberculosis, diabetes, asthma and obesity than do Anglos.

The two-day meeting will help congressional representatives draft a national legislative agenda, said U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, who chairs the health task force of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

One of the key issues confronting legislators is the high number of low-wage Hispanic workers who can't afford health insurance.

A number of public-sector ideas are being discussed, including expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) and possibly reducing the age of Medicare eligibility, said Rep. Hilda Solis, D-Calif.

"But I think the private sector and corporate sector are going to have to get more involved in helping the workers of America to have insurance," Solis said.

The time is ripe for Congress and private-sector partners to try pilot programs for low-cost, affordable insurance for working poor families — particularly in Southwestern states, including Texas, where there are concentrations of low-income Hispanics, she added.

The ultimate solution is a universal health care plan to provide health coverage for all Americans, said Rep. Ed Pastor, D-Ariz.

"In the interim, we have to develop the political will to get there," Pastor said.

Carmona said the Health and Human Services Administration is launching a health disparities initiative that will focus on bettering the health of minorities in six areas — infant mortality, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, HIV and immunization rates.

"The over-arching theme ... is prevention," Carmona said. "The president and (Health and Human Services) secretary (Tommy Thompson) are passionate about a strong national prevention agenda, and they have challenged me to take that message forward to the people."

Prior to the meeting, Carmona met with local health care officials about the area trauma and emergency room crisis, which has overloaded emergency rooms and stretched health care providers beyond capacity.

Local hospital and health leaders have been meeting to craft interim solutions, but they say that ultimately the problem is a money issue for hospitals, which are not recovering enough of what it costs to provide care.

The issue is a nationwide one fed by a shortage of nurses, a shortage of trauma doctors, an aging population and other factors, said Carmona, a trauma surgeon by training who was chairman of the Southern Arizona Regional Emergency Medical System.

Communities must build new partnerships with resources such as military and Veterans Administration hospitals to help fill the gaps.

"What has to happen is you optimize what resources you have and look at what deficiencies are left," Carmona said. "At that point, you have to put together a strategy that is unique for every community."