WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 -- The National Council of La Raza issued the following news release:

As the United States transitions to a "majority-minority" population over the next three decades, prominent health and income security groups say the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction and other members of Congress must take into account how changes to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid will affect communities of color, a population that is growing and increasingly economically insecure.

Two new reports show the importance of programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid to communities of color. Plan for a New Future: The Impact of Social Security Reform on Communities of Color, released by the Commission to Modernize Social Security, argues that changes to the program must consider the impact on workers and families of color who are more vulnerable to economic instability and far less likely to have generational wealth than White families. The importance of Medicaid to the Black and Latino communities, as well as the heavy burden of chronic disease borne by these groups, is documented in a detailed report, Medicaid: A Lifeline for Blacks and Latinos With Serious Health Care Needs, which was recently released by Families USA.

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"Social Security is the only source of income for two of every five African American retiree households age 65 and older," said Commission member Dr. Wilhelmina Leigh, Senior Research Associate at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. "So any proposals to guarantee system solvency should also guarantee the adequacy of benefits going forward."

Read the full story at Insurance News.