Uninsured in Chicago: How the Social Safety Net Leaves Latinos Behind (Latina/o Sociology, 14)

Why millions of Latinx people don’t access the healthcare system, even in times of need More than a decade after the passage of the Affordable Care Act, around eleven million Latinx citizens around the country remain uninsured. In Uninsured in Chicago , Robert Vargas explores the roots of this crisis, showing us why, despite their eligibility, Latinx people are the racial group least likely to enroll in health insurance. Following the lives of forty uninsured Latinx people in Chicago, Vargas provides an up-close look at America’s broken healthcare system, and how it impacts marginalized groups. From excruciatingly long waits and expensive medical bills, to humiliating interactions with health navigators and emergency room staff, he shows us why millions of Latinx people avoid the healthcare system, even in times of need. With a compassionate eye, Vargas highlights the unique struggles Latinx people face as the largest racial group without health insurance in the United States. An intimate account of the lives of uninsured Latinos, this book imagines new, powerful ways to strengthen our social safety net to better serve our most vulnerable communities. "Latinos are the largest racial group without health insurance in the nation, and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was supposed to help fix this. Six years after implementation, however, millions of Latinos who were eligible for health insurance remained uninsured. In this book, Robert Vargas shadowed the lives of 40 uninsured young adults in Chicago during the first three years of the ACA (2013-2016) to understand the roots of this problem. By accompanying uninsured Latinos as they lived their lives and interacted with the health care system both online and in-person, Vargas illuminates multiple structures that inhibited access to health insurance. This included the criminalized informal health care economy, which severely punished uninsured Latinos for engaging in petty thefts to acquire life-saving medications. Traumatic past experiences with health care bureaucracies also dissuaded Latinos from using the ACA, as memories of long waits or stigmatization from rude staff soured their perceptions of the ACA. Amidst these constraining structures, Vargas also discovered glimmers of hope through the positive role health navigators, social networks, and family members played in overcoming structural barriers and facilitating access to health insurance. This groundbreaking ethnography is one of the most intimate accounts of the lives of uninsured Latinos, and provides readers with a wealth of ideas to imagine new ways to empower Latino communities into dismantling or transforming the nation's social safety net for the better"-- Provided by publisher "Latinos are the largest racial group without health insurance in the nation, and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was supposed to help fix this. Six years after implementation, however, millions of Latinos who were eligible for health insurance remained uninsured. In this book, Robert Vargas shadowed the lives of 40 uninsured young adults in Chicago during the first three years of the ACA (2013-2016) to understand the roots of this problem. By accompanying uninsured Latinos as they lived their lives and interacted with the health care system both online and in-person, Vargas illuminates multiple structures that inhibited access to health insurance. This included the criminalized informal health care economy, which severely punished uninsured Latinos for engaging in petty thefts to acquire life-saving medications. Traumatic past experiences with health care bureaucracies also dissuaded Latinos from using the ACA, as memories of long waits or stigmatization from rude staff soured their perceptions of the ACA. Amidst these constraining structures, Vargas also discovered glimmers of hope through the positive role health navigators, social networks, and family members played in overcoming structural barriers and facilitating access to health insurance. This groundbreaking ethnography is one of the most intimate accounts of the lives of uninsured Latinos, and provides readers with a wealth of ideas to imagine new ways to empower Latino communities into dismantling or transforming the nation's social safety net for the better" (source: éditeur) In 2013, half of Latino young adults between the ages of 18 and 34 were uninsured, and the passing of the Affordable Care Act was supposed to reduce those numbers. Seven years later, however, a total of 10.1 million Latinos remain uninsured nationwide. Uninsured in Chicago tells the stories of Latinos’ experiences with the Affordable Care Act to understand why some managed to enroll and why many did not. Based on a three-year longitudinal ethnography of 40 uninsured young adults, this book takes a deep look at the multiple and intersecting social structures driving Latinos’ lack of access to health insurance. From the criminalized informal health care economy to gendered family obligations, Vargas unveils many hidden barriers facing uninsured Latinos, along with several community-based resources that can be used to circumvent them. A groundbreaking examination of life during the first three years of the Affordable Care Act, Uninsured in Chicago provides a sobering analysis of the work needed to restore citizen trust in the health care safety net. Introduction -- How the Uninsured Are Criminalized -- Who Deserves Health Care? -- Why Latina Women Sacrifice Their Coverage -- The Role Gender Plays in Access to Health Care -- The Power of Social Networks to Secure Insurance -- Conclusion