health insurance and hispanic children

WASHINGTON -- Hispanic children are less likely than other children to have health insurance or recommended vaccinations, disparities that a government study says will be magnified in the coming years by the nation's changing demographics.



By the year 2020, nearly one in four American children will be Hispanic, up from fewer than one in five today.



Ethnicity not source of difference

The data in the government report shows that the rising number of Hispanic children would help lower the rate of smoking among teens.



However, teen pregnancy rates would rise and the percentage of students completing high school would fall without changes occurring, said Dr. Duane Alexander, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, one of several federal agencies that contributed to the report.



''The people who follow population demographics and health disparities are very concerned about this,'' Alexander said.



The report also found that Hispanic children are more likely to live in poverty and to be overweight.



Dr. Edward Sondik, director of the National Center for Health Statistics, said the differences are not caused by race. ''But there may be circumstances that cause these differences,'' he said.





The data in the government report shows that the rising number of Hispanic children would help lower the rate of smoking among teens.