The large population of "working poor" Latinos will have access to health care if the poverty-level definition is changed, concludes a new study from UC Davis.

Given the high percentage of Spanish speakers in the state, health care programs also must be bilingual, provide Spanish language publications and a staff specifically trained to help Latinos negotiate through the public health care system, says the study's author, Adela de la Torre, director and professor in the Chicana/o Studies Program at UC Davis.

"We must invest in the Latino community, which contributes greatly to our country's economy by offering them accessible health care," De la Torre says.

De la Torre says the study's findings serve as a proposal for the U.S. government to recognize the need to modify qualification requirements for public health care insurance such as Medicaid and State Child Health Insurance Program, to increase eligibility and enrollment for underserved and underinsured Latinos.

In her study, De la Torre found a great number of Latinos qualify as the "working poor" because their income exceeds the poverty level, yet they do not make enough to afford private health care insurance.

In future research, De la Torre will be identifying why Latinos with access to public health insurance still do not use the health care system as efficiently as privately insured individuals. It appears that there may be cultural and linguistic factors that may also impact how Latinos use health care, even when they have access to health insurance.