ACA Is Narrowing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care Access
<p>The gaps in health care access that blacks and Hispanics face relative to whites narrowed between 2013 and 2015, following implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) major coverage expansions, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report.</p><p>While black and Hispanic adults still experience greater difficulty getting needed health care compared to whites, the historically wide gulf appears to be shrinking. As a group, states that chose to expand Medicaid have generally seen greater declines than nonexpansion states have in racial and ethnic disparities in measures of health care access, such as having a regular health care provider, having insurance coverage, and not having to go without care because of cost.</p>
<p>"This analysis shows that the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance coverage provisions have helped the U.S. make progress toward ensuring that everyone, regardless of race or ethnicity, has access to the health care they need," said The Commonwealth Fund’s Pamela Riley, M.D., a coauthor of the report. "We must continue to focus on policies like expanding eligibility for Medicaid that will address our health care system's historic inequities."</p>