OBJECTIVES: The capacity to plan and execute national health policy requires a knowledge and understanding of the health status of key subgroups. Such information can be collected using generic index measures of health. This study examines the self-reported health status of the U.S. Hispanic population and explores the differences that exist within this community when socio-demographic characteristics are taken into account. METHODS: Analyses were based on the U.S. Medical Expenditure Panel Survey conducted in 2003 which evaluated the health status of 4131 Hispanics using the EQ-5D instrument. Outcomes analysed included the rates of reported problem for mobility, self care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression, and self-rated valuation of health on a visual analogue scale (VAS). RESULTS: Just over half of the respondents were women (50.8%); mean age of the sample was 38.5 years with 70% aged under 45 years. Younger, male, better educated and higher income persons tended to have better health status than older, female, less educated and lower income persons. Higher health status on the VAS scale was also associated with Hispanic origin (p<0.001), Mexican ethnicity (p<0.05) and use of the Spanish language (p<0.05). The most prevalent health problems in the Hispanics reported using the EQ-5D classification system were pain/discomfort (33.5%) and anxiety/depression (25.7%). Mean VAS score for the Hispanics was 83.0 points. Within a group of 10 chronic conditions assessed, respondents reporting stroke and angina had the lowest mean VAS scores (62.4 and 65.3 points respectively). CONCLUSION: The EQ-5D instrument indicated significant differences in health status when different sub-groups of the Hispanic population were analysed. Our findings assist the understanding of how the U.S Hispanic population perceives and values its health status. In the absence of domestic national surveys elsewhere, these data could also serve as a proxy for the health status of Latin Americans who lives outside the U.S.