By Stan Dorn*
A UnidosUS report concludes that President Donald Trump is currently presiding over the largest loss of health coverage in American history.threatening to abruptly reverse 14 years of hard-won gains for Latino families.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, 8.7 million Americans will lose their health insurance under the current administration. This represents an increase of one third; a figure that doubles the largest loss of coverage recorded previously, which occurred in the early 1990s. This loss of medical coverage, the most serious in the history of the United States, has an alarming peculiarity: it is the first of large magnitude derived entirely from federal decisions on public health. While previous historical setbacks were a consequence of economic crises — in which unemployment dragged down insurance losses — the current figures are completely self-inflicted.
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Almost 10 million Latinos gained access to the health system between 2010 and 2024. However, these advances today face a direct threat due to the proposed cuts to Medicaid and the private insurance market of the ACA (known as Obamacare).
It is estimated that 14 million people, including More than 4 million Latinos will be uninsured in the next decade as a consequence of two legislative actions. First, Congress allowed the ACA tax credits to expire in January, increasing the average cost of premiums by $1,000 annually for more than 20 million Americans, including 6.5 million Latinos. These increased costs are anticipated to result in the loss of coverage for millions of families.
In second place, The federal budget passed last summer includes more than $1 trillion in health care cuts.. These measures impose new bureaucratic burdens that will deprive working families of access to health. Starting in 2027, Medicaid will disenroll low-income adults unless they demonstrate employment or specific exceptions that demonstrate the inability to work such as disability or caregiving responsibilities. In addition, every six months they will have to demonstrate that they remain eligible, despite the lack of indication of changes in their situation.
These administrative barriers can have a devastating impact on Hispanic families, many of whom face language limitations and difficulties in providing required documentation electronically, or taking time off work to go to social services offices.
Historically, 52% of Latinos who lost Medicaid upon recertification were eligiblebut they were excluded due to bureaucratic failures. In contrast, among the non-Hispanic population, the erroneous exclusion rate was 40%; a figure also excessive, but significantly shocking that Hispanic families face.
The federal budget also specifically harms the Latino community by eliminating health insurance for numerous immigrants with valid status, including refugees and DACA recipients, who came to the country as children and know no other home.
Other Trump administration policies have eroded health access. The indiscriminate application of immigration lawsMedicaid record sharing with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and public charge regulations have created a profound deterrent effect. In 2025, the share of immigrant parents who reported leaving programs like Medicaid out of fear of immigration consequences nearly doubled, from 11% to 18%. UnidosUS Affiliates serving local Hispanic communities frequently report that entire families avoid medical care for fear that ICE agents may show up at hospitals or clinics and make arrests based on their appearance or speech.
No one should feel unsafe going to the doctor. No parent should be forced to forego medical care for fear of being separated from their children, and no one in this country should be detained because of their appearance or language. However, this is the reality for Latinos day after day.
Decisions made by lawmakers affect Americans of all backgrounds, but these measures have deliberately impacted the Latino community and are especially deeply damaging. Our elected representatives have the duty to improve the lives of citizens, not to make them precarious. It is imperative that Congress reverse these cuts and rebuild health programs to ensure affordable health insurance for Latinos and the entire nation.
Stan Dorn
director of Health Policy at UnidosUS.
The texts published in this section are the sole responsibility of the authors, so La Opinión does not assume responsibility for them.
