Excerpt: Latinos' Access to Employment-Based Health Insurance

Brown, Richard E., and Hongjian Yu. [2002] 2005. "Latinos' Access to Employment-Based Health Insurance". Pp. 348-353 in Understanding Society, 2nd ed., edited by Margaret L. Andersen, Kim Logio, and Howard Taylor. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.

The problem: 37% of Latinos do not have health insurance (as of this article, published in 2002). The authors note that Latinos are more likely than non-Hispanic whites to report being in "fair" or "poor" health and less likely to visit a doctor. That is to say, Latinos have the same or greater need for health services but are less likely to use them. The authors believe that this disparity is due to the high percentage of those without health insurance, which makes medical fees and prescription costs easier to pay.

Excerpt: Forever Seen as New: Latino Participation in American Elections

DeSipio, Louis, and Rodolfo O. de la Garza. [2002] 2005. "Forever Seen as New: Latino Participation in American Elections". Pp. 342-346 in Understanding Society, 2nd ed., edited by Margaret L. Andersen, Kim Logio, and Howard Taylor. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.

The Latino population in the United States is rising, and by 2050 is expected to amount to 30% of the total US population. In 2002, when this article was written, only 1 in 6 Latinos voted in elections.

However, the potential for a cohesive "Latino electorate" is growing in size and strength, and it becomes incrementally more influential each election cycle. The authors highlight a few different reasons for this and note that Latino empowerment could in the near future determine the outcome of national elections.