Latinos in Florida among those with lowest rates of preventable deaths in the state

Latinos under the age of 75 in Florida are among the demographics with the least amount of deaths from preventable causes, and are also healthier in this area than other Latinos in the country, a new Commonwealth Fund report showed.

Concretely, figures show that the rate of deaths as a result of preventable illnesses among Latinos under 75 was of 172 per 100,000 people, lower than Blacks (316) and Whites (267).

The report added that the reasons for this could be because the Latino population is "younger, more diverse and less likely to engage in risky behaviors like smoking."

They also showed Latinos in Florida being healthier than the national average for the demographic, which has over 200 deaths from preventable illnesses per 100,000 people.

In this area, Whites in Florida had a higher rate of preventable deaths, while Blacks, despite topping the list, saw lower figures than their national average.

Asian American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders had the lowest rate both at a state and national level, with 105 deaths from preventable causes per 100,000 people.

Another passage of the report notes that "unequal access to primary care and comprehensive health insurance help perpetuate racial and health disparities."

The fact that Florida hasn't expanded Medicaid has resulted in hundreds of thousands who of uninsured adults who earn too much to qualify for the program but too little to afford coverage outside of it, according to Axios.

At a national level, Latinos have historically had longer life-expectancy rates than other demographics despite having lower income, health care and higher rates of diabetes and obesity, according to medical journal Stat News.

The "Hispanic Paradox," however, showed researchers that "living longer does not necessarily mean living healthier, and hat lumping together people from places as varied as Brazil, Mexico, and Puerto Rico conceals important health risks for these individual populations." A substantial drop in life expectancy during the Covid-19 pandemic could add evidence to this premise.

"They're also finding that healthy Hispanics who immigrate to the U.S. tend to get sicker the longer they stay — raising deeper questions about why our wealthy nation, which spends more than $4 trillion on health care, is far sicker than it should be."

Another study by the Commonwealth Fund showed that Black and AIAN people tend to live fewer years, on average, than white and Hispanic people and are more likely to die from treatable conditions, more likely to die during or after pregnancy and suffer serious pregnancy-related complication.

When it comes to policy, the researchers acknowledge the progress that certain initiatives, like The Affordable Care Act, have made for closing racial and ethnic health gaps. But they argue there's still a long way to go.

"Our hope is that policymakers, health system leaders, and community stakeholders will use this tool to investigate the impact of current and past health policies on different racial and ethnic groups and to take steps to ensure an equitable health care system for the future," the study said.