Dominicans among highest health insured in U.S., according to new CUNY DSI study

NEW YORK, Feb. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In a landmark nationwide study, the City College of New York-based CUNY Dominican Studies Institute reports that Dominicans have among the highest health insurance coverage rates among Hispanics/Latinos. This is largely due to their significant reliance on public health insurance and publicly supported plans.

The report constitutes the first detailed national study focused specifically on the health insurance status of Dominicans in the United States.

It was co-authored by:

• Ramona Hernández, Director of CUNY DSI and professor of sociology in CCNY's Colin Powell for Civic and Global Leadership;
• Francisco L. Rivera-Batiz, adjunct research associate at CUNY DSI and Professor Emeritus at Columbia University; and
• Sidie S. Sisay, research associate at CUNY DSI.

"The study shows that access to health coverage varies markedly across groups, with Dominicans relying overwhelmingly on publicly funded insurance as their primary and often only source of coverage," said Hernández. "Any budget cuts in this area would have severe and disproportionate consequences for this community, placing Dominicans among the Latino groups most at risk of losing access to essential health services."

Drawing on the latest American Community Survey data, the study shows that Dominicans have sharply reduced their uninsured rate over the last 15 years, cutting it by more than half. The outcome today is a demographic with one of the lowest uninsured rates among Hispanics/Latinos nationwide.

• Dominicans have reduced their uninsured rate by more than half over the past 15 years—dropping from over 20% (2008 - 2013) to 9.9% in 2024.
  
  
• In 2024, only 9.9% of Dominicans were uninsured, compared to 17.2% of Hispanics/Latinos overall, giving Dominicans one of the lowest uninsured rates among Latino groups.
  
  
• 44.5% of Dominicans rely exclusively on public health insurance, compared to 27.1% of the overall U.S. population.
  
  
• Nearly 50% of insured Dominicans receive some form of public support (Medicaid, Medicare, CHIP, or Marketplace subsidies), compared to about 30% nationally.
  
  
• In New York City, home to nearly 691,000 Dominicans, the uninsured rate among Dominicans is just 5.4%, significantly lower than the national Dominican uninsured rate of 9.9%.

A central finding of the study is the heavy adoption of public health insurance among Dominicans. A significantly larger share of insured Dominicans rely exclusively on public insurance plans compared to the overall U.S. population. Additionally, nearly half of insured Dominicans benefit from some form of public support, whether through direct participation in programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), or through public subsidies that help purchase private insurance plans.

This reliance on public support places the community in a vulnerable position amid ongoing policy debates and proposed reductions in Medicaid and other government programs. The scheduled expiration in 2025 of extended Marketplace subsidies for the purchase of private insurance is also likely to have a severe impact on Dominicans and other populations who depend on public assistance to secure coverage.

The authors conclude that public health insurance functions as an essential lifejacket for accessing health care in the United States, particularly for Dominicans, and warn that threats to government support for health insurance place both Dominicans and the broader population at risk.

Contact: Jay Mwamba, [email protected], 917.892.0374

SOURCE City College of New York, Office of Institutional Advancement and Communications