¿barretas?

Question

While reading an article in a Spanish newspaper I encountered a word that I am unfamiliar with. I usually run into multiple words per article that I don't know, and when I do I simply look them up. However, this time I could not seem to make sense out of the definition for the word barreta in the context of the sentence. I was wondering if someone could help shine some light on this for me. The sentence is as follows:

Muchos hombres también enfrentan barretas para recibir cuidado médico preventivo, ...

Does barretas mean 'trouble' in this context? Is enfrentan barretas an idiomatic expression? I would appreciate any help you could give. Gracias de antemano.

Answer 1

I wonder if the word is a typo in the article. It makes much more sense reading as "barreras". t is next to r on the keyboard, so this is my reasoning.

Barreras: barriers, obstacles

Many men also face barriers in receiving preventive medical care.

Answer 2

bribe, fraud, barratry

Ooh, "barratry"! Lovely word. - samdie, Aug 30, 2010