Newswise — The second national survey by the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economic Polling Initiative (FAU BEPI)found that there has been little improvement in health insurance coverage for Hispanic women but some progress for Hispanic men since the 2013 Current Population Survey.

The FAU BEPI survey found that 21.5 percent of women are without insurance compared to 22.6 percent in the Current Population Survey, whereas for Hispanic men, one in 10 (9.8 percent) are without healthcare insurance in contrast to the Current Population Survey which finds that one in four (26 percent) Hispanic men did not have health insurance. This is corroborated by the number of men who find it easier to afford health care in our survey (19.6 percent) while only 10.2 percent of women find healthcare more affordable.

“Possible explanations for the gender difference in healthcare coverage and affordability can be that women on average have lower incomes than men so they have a harder time paying for health care costs,” said Monica Escaleras, director of FAU BEPI. “Also, more women relative to men have part-time jobs so they are less likely to have coverage through their own employers.”

The FAU survey sample included 529 Hispanics across the nation with a margin of error of 4.2 percent.

Sharmila Vishwasrao, associate professor of economics at FAU notes that these results show a larger decline in uninsured Hispanics.

“The improvement in health coverage for Hispanics may be due to improving job market conditions as well as reflect changes in the Health insurance market because of the introduction of Obamacare,” Vishwasrao said. “However employees may not be choosing family coverage in households because of cost considerations. Many children are covered by expanded state programs but non-working spouses are not.”

Hispanics suspicious of judicial system

Nearly three out of four (74 percent) Hispanics think the criminal justice system is not fair. Registered Republican Hispanic voters think the justice system is more equal (45 percent to 55 percent), a slim majority, than registered Democrat Hispanic voters (24 percent to 76 percent). Independent Hispanics find the system unjust (31 percent to 69 percent) and those who are not registered voters have the least faith in the criminal justice system with only 19 percent saying the treatment was equal and 81 percent saying it was not.

Hispanic consumer confidence up in September While Hispanic consumer confidence is still lower than the Thomson Reuters University of Michigan National average, September saw a significant increase from August of 8.1 points (68.3 to 76.4) while other metrics used to gauge the sentiment of consumers also increased but are still below the national averages. A possible connection to these results could be the 1 percent drop of the unemployment rate in the month of September (from 7.5 percent to 6.5 percent) as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Additional information about this survey and the initiative can be accessed at www.business.fau.edu/bepi or by contacting Monica Escaleras at 561-297-1312 or [email protected]. -FAU-

About FAU BEPI:The Florida Atlantic University Business and Economic Polling Initiative Conducts surveys on business, economic, political and social issues with a focus on Hispanic attitudes and opinions at regional, state and national levels via planned monthly national surveys. The initiative subscribes to the American Association of Public Opinion Research and is a resource for public and private organizations, academic research and media outlets. In addition, the initiative is designed to contribute to the educational mission of the University by providing students with valuable opportunities to enhance their educational experience by designing and carry out public opinion research.

About Florida Atlantic University: Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of three signature themes – marine and coastal issues, biotechnology and contemporary societal challenges – which provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU’s existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.

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