Declining health insurance access among US Hispanic workers: not all jobs are created equal.

Introduction: Approximately 18% of the U.S. population are uninsured, a proportion that may continue to rise, particularly among Hispanics, as the cost of medical care increases faster than the growth in wages.

Methods: Health insurance trends were analyzed by race-ethnic category, and among Hispanic workers by occupation type and industrial sector, using data on employed respondents > or =18 years from 1997 to 2007 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) (mean annual n = 17,392, representing 123 million US workers on average over this 11 year period).

Results: From 1997 to 2007, the relative decline in health insurance coverage for US workers was greatest among Hispanics (7.0%). Hispanic workers in the Construction and Services industries had the greatest overall decline in coverage (24.9% and 14.7%), as well as Hispanic blue collar workers (14.0%).

Conclusion: Hispanic workers in general, and those employed in blue collar, construction, and services sectors in particular, are at greater risk for poor access to health care due to a lack of health insurance coverage.