What Hispanic Heritage Month Means for Texas' Uninsured

National Hispanic Heritage Month is underway now and runs through Oct. 15. Here are three reasons that Hispanic Heritage Month makes a compelling time to talk about health insurance.

1) Texas had a higher-than-average rate of Latino participation in the first open enrollment period of the Affordable Care Act. It's great that outreach and enrollment groups here did a good job reaching Latino communities, but . . .

2) Latinos continue to be more likely to be uninsured. According to a recent report from the National Council of La Raza, Latinos are among the most likely Texans to be uninsured, with nearly 4 out of every 10 Texans from Latino communities lacking health coverage. About half of the total uninsured population in Texas comes from Latino communities.

3) Getting covered is a first step, but people also need to know how to use their coverage. Since Latinos make up a large portion of the newly insured, many would benefit from extra support that aims to help them use their health insurance effectively. Our national director wrote recently about the importance of health insurance literacy. And Enroll America is working with partners around the state and nationally this month to put on a series of Health and Education Resource Fairs to promote health insurance literacy.

We would welcome your involvement in our health literacy event series and other upcoming opportunities to connect with the uninsured in the communities where they live. Visit the events page of our website to learn what's happening near you.

*** Don't forget! Sept. 30 is the deadline for registering for this free Oct. 14 event sponsored by the Cover Texas Now Coalition. We won't be holding our monthly partner webinar in October, as we are hoping to see everyone on Oct. 14 at this special event in Austin instead.

Written by Mimi Garcia. Cross-posted from an Enroll America email.