MERCEDES — A rare event happened one February morning: Blanca Zambrano had a doctor’s appointment at Nuestra Clinca del Valle.

Medical visits are infrequent for the uninsured, 18-year-old housewife because she cannot afford primary care. Her husband, a 21-year-old construction worker who earns $200 a week, also is not covered by any health plan.

"I tried to apply for Medicaid but I got turned down," she said in Spanish, as her 1-year-old daughter, Karina Zamorano stood transfixed by a "Sesame Street" episode in the family’s dilapidated Progreso house.

Karina is covered under the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program. But her parents, like thousands of others in Hidalgo County, have no medical safety net.

Alarming statistics on the number of Americans without health insurance, coinciding with the immigration debate stewing in Congress, has fueled a nationwide demand for change and a call for solutions on how to cover the uninsured. And the stakes are even greater for Hispanics: 32.7 percent are uninsured, compared to 11.3 percent of Anglos.

The crisis is reflected in the Rio Grande Valley, where 32 percent of Hidalgo County residents are uninsured.

So the area seems a natural fit to host the National Uninsured Latinos Conference Sunday and Monday at the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg.

Dozens of movers and shakers in the healthcare industry — including policy analysts, university professors and pharmaceutical representatives — will join elected officials in all-day seminars discussing the health policy challenges of uninsured Hispanics and proposals on how to extend them coverage.

Noted speakers include former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, the 2004 Democratic vice-presidential nominee and a 2008 presidential prospect; Raúl Yzaguirre, longtime leader of the National Council of La Raza; and former San Antonio Mayor Henry G. Cisneros.

Local politicians, including U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin and U.S. Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, will also be in attendance.

The conference is the inaugural project for the Raúl Yzaguirre Policy Institute at the university. The Hispanic leadership and policy institute will be a focal point for national Hispanic leadership and community research.

More than 400 people are expected each day to attend the conference, including local hospital representatives, students and community health center leaders.

An uninsured population — and especially a rapidly growing Hispanic segment — spell dire consequences for the U.S. health and economic infrastructure, several health policy analysts said.

"Insurance is so important for maintaining health, particularly in the face of chronic illness like diabetes, which is increasing among the Hispanic population," said conference panelist Dr. John R. Lumpkin, who is the senior vice president and director of the healthcare group at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The Princeton, N.J.-based non-profit foundation offers project grants in the United States and U.S. territories to improve health care of all Americans.

"And we know that people who are uninsured live sicker and die younger."

Statistics show the sick and poor tend to access emergency care departments more than their insured and healthier counterparts. But these costs are more expensive than doctor visits and since the uninsured cannot afford to pay, the healthcare system — and thus taxpayers — bears the cost burden.

"Our community is faced with this every day," said Doctors Hospital at Renaissance spokeswoman Marissa Castañeda, who is one of several local hospital representatives attending.

"We want to learn what we need to do as a hospital in this underserved community."

Most uninsured are American citizens or legal residents of working families. But a significant population is undocumented and uninsured, so changes in immigration policy will inevitably change healthcare delivery and access for everyone.

"At the end of the day it is so intertwined," said conference speaker and U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Al Zapanta.

"The bottom line is the people here not uninsured who are U.S. citizens, which are the majority, how do we fix it?" he asked. "It’s a private sector working with the government and Hispanic community organizations."

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Jennifer C. Smith covers health, environment and science issues at The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4462.