Health Law Dramatically Helped Combat Racial Coverage Disparities, But That Progress Has Now Stalled
A new study finds that coverage gains made in the early years of the health law are slipping. Researchers blame the shift largely on continued lack of coverage for adults in the 15 states that hadn't expanded Medicaid.
Modern Healthcare:
ACA's Impact On Racial Health Disparities Has Stalled
While black and Hispanic adult uninsured rates dramatically declined thanks to the Affordable Care Act, that progress has largely stalled in recent years and the overall uninsured rate has started to climb, according to a new study released Thursday. Since 2015, black adults in Medicaid expansion states were more likely to be insured than white adults in those states, according to the Commonwealth Fund report. More than 74% of black adults and 58% of Hispanic adults reported having a regular healthcare provider in 2018 compared to 71% and 55% in 2013, the study showed. (Johnson, 1/16)
ABC News:
Progress Stalled On Closing Racial Gap In Health Insurance Since Trump Took Office
Between 2013 and 2016, the uninsured rate dropped from 24.4% to 13.7% among black adults, and from 40.2% to 25.5% among Hispanic adults, according to a report published Thursday by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit research foundation. Uninsured white Americans dropped from 14.5% to 8.2% during the same period. (Schumaker, 1/16)
US News:
Obamacare Curbed Racial And Ethnic Coverage Gaps, But Progress Has Slowed
States that expanded their Medicaid programs saw the largest improvement overall. From 2013 to 2018, the black-white gap in insurance coverage dropped from 8.4 to 3.7 percentage points in expansion states, for example, while the Hispanic-white gap fell from 23.2 to 12.7 percentage points. Gains were so significant that the uninsured rate among blacks in expansion states in 2018 – 10.1% – was lower than the 12.3% rate among whites in non-expansion states, the report says. (Galvin, 1/16)
The CT Mirror:
Racial Disparities Persist In CT Health Care, Two Groups Find
While Connecticut has led national efforts in public insurance reform, significant health disparities persist between the state’s residents of color and white residents, two research and advocacy groups concluded in reports released this week. Black and Latino residents are more likely than white residents to be uninsured, to die before reaching adulthood and to report being in poor health. (Carlesso, 1/15)
In other news on the health law —
The Hill:
Health Insurers Urge Supreme Court To Take ObamaCare Case, Uphold Health Law
The health insurance lobby America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) on Wednesday filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to take up a case challenging ObamaCare and to rule to uphold the health law. The health insurers are siding with a group of Democratic-led states that have asked the high court to take up the GOP-led case challenging the Affordable Care Act (ACA) now. (Sullivan, 1/15)
