Uninsured Rate for Latino Students Down Sharply at State Universities

By David Gorn, California Healthline

The rate of uninsured students at two California State University campuses dropped dramatically overall, and Latino students in particular saw a steep decline, according to poll results released Wednesday.

Seven CSU campuses now have an estimated 7 percent overall rate of uninsured students, according to Walter Zelman, director of the CSU Health Insurance Education Project, which works to sign up uninsured students.

This is a population -- the so-called "young invincibles" -- that traditionally has high rates of the uninsured. Zelman pointed out they also happen to be the healthy, lower-cost enrollees that health insurance plans and Covered California would love to have in their patient mix.

"In a sense, the population they need to reach the most might be the easiest to reach, not the hardest," Zelman said.

Traditionally, the Latino population also has been difficult to reach, but according to the poll of CSU students, the number of uninsured Latinos dropped substantially, Zelman said.

For example, at Cal State Los Angeles, the percentage of uninsured Latino students fell from 41 percent in October 2013 to 26 percent in April 2014, when the first Covered California open enrollment period ended.

And with the second Covered California open enrollment, that number tumbled further to 10 percent by the Feb. 15 sign-up deadline.

"That was the most stunning number we have here," Zelman said. "That was a shocker."

Zelman said he's been evaluating the rates of uninsured Latinos for many years, so he knows how much higher the uninsured rates are among Latinos.

"The history of all the data show Latinos are so much more likely to be uninsured," Zelman said. "At one point, it was 40 percent in Los Angeles County. And if you add in young Latinos, that percentage rises. So you have a heavily uninsured population, and that rate is heavily down, by 75 percent in some cases. I've never seen a number like that."

Some highlights of the February poll:

• The percentage of uninsured students overall on two CSU southern California campuses may have reached all-time lows; Cal State L.A. and Cal State Long Beach dropped to 9 percent, down from 19 percent at Cal State L.A. and 15 percent at Cal State Long Beach in April 2014;
• Overall, at seven CSU campuses, about 7 percent of CSU students remain uninsured, compared to an estimated 25 percent uninsured in October 2013;
• The overall percentage of uninsured Latino students declined even more sharply, from 19 percent last year to 12 percent this year.

In terms of possible policy changes based on the changes at these CSU campuses, Zelman said the state's two-year colleges might be a perfect target.

"I would look hard at whether or not we've effectively reached out to community college campuses. If I were Covered California, I would want to make sure I get the message out there," Zelman said. "This young, low-income population, they're on college campuses. That's the most gettable and most easily enrolled population, and they're just out there to be enrolled."