Over one third of the Latinos in the United States are completely uninsured,21 and the rate of growth of the uninsured Latino population is greater than that of the non-Latino population.22 While 76% of white non-elderly Californians have private health insurance, only 43% of Latinos do.21 Even when covered by insurance, Latinos have lower outpatient utilization rates than whites, especially those who are not English-speaking.2 However, twice as many Latinos report using emergency room services for primary care when compared to whites.23 Latinos also enter hospitals via emergency rooms more than whites, and have longer and more expensive hospital stays.24 This is especially important because hospitalization accounts for 60% of all costs associated with diabetes.25 In addition to being uninsured, language and cultural barriers also contribute to the under utilization of preventive health care among Latinos. Spanish-speaking Latinos encounter obstacles when seeking health care within the complicated health care system, and are less likely to find a regular source of medical care.2 The patterns of health care utilization described above suggest that diabetes self-management education may assist the Latino population in reducing emergency room use and days in hospital.