were 29.8 percent of blacks and 41.4 percent of Hispanic Americans. Studies extending back to 1978 have shown that Hispanic Americans are the most likely of all ethnic groups to be uninsured, and this is especially devastating given that Hispanics represent the fastest-growing ethnic population group in the nation (Friedman, 1991, p. 2491). A study made between 1982 and 1984 showed that one-third of the Mexican-American population, one-fifth of the Puerto Rican population, and one-fourth of the Cuban-American population was uninsured compared with one-fifth of the black and one-tenth of the white populations (Trevino, Moyer, Valdez, & Stroup-Benham, 1991, p. 233).
Other studies have shown that Latinos, especially Mexican Americans, have the lowest level of medical and mental health care utilization in the country. Latinos are least likely to have insurance coverage against losses due to illness. Many believe that there is a safety net available for these groups that provides them with medical care perhaps more easily than is true for the middle class and
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