Indeed, Hispanics have highest percentage

At the Sept. 9, 2007 Univision debate in Miami, Democratic candidate Dennis Kucinich said Hispanics lag behind other Americans in health insurance coverage. He said, "34 percent of Hispanics don't have any health care at all, don't have any health insurance."

We interpret his statement as a reference to health insurance coverage -- not a claim that Hispanics are denied all health care -- and find it to be accurate.

The January 2007 report Key Facts: Race, Ethnicity & Medical Care, published by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, notes that 34 percent of Hispanics are without health insurance coverage. The report cites 2005 estimates by the Urban Institute and Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured.

The report also notes that of all racial/ethnic minority groups, Hispanics have "the highest percentage of uninsured, and the lowest percentage of people with employer coverage."

The 2005 National Healthcare Disparities Report from the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality said that Hispanics have less access to health care than non-Hispanic whites and are more likely to receive poorer-quality care.