Affordable Care Act has significantly narrowed racial disparities in healthcare access, report says

The Affordable Care Act, passed by former President Barack Obama in 2010, expanded health coverage across the United States and significantly reduced racial and ethnic disparities in access to healthcare. . federal fund.

“Since its enactment in 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has significantly reduced racial and ethnic disparities in both coverage and access to healthcare, especially in states that have expanded their Medicaid programs. while helping to cut the U.S. uninsured rate by almost half.” Read the report.

According to data, before Medicaid expansion took effect in 2013 (ACA provisions that covered more families on Medicaid), 40.2% of the Hispanic population, 24.4% of the Black population, and 14.5% of the White population % had no insurance. In the United States. However, by 2021, these numbers have dropped significantly to 24.5%, 13.5% and 8.2% respectively.

Over the course of the pandemic, more than 5 million people were insured between 2020 and 2022, reducing the overall U.S. uninsured rate to just 8%, a historic low, according to the report. .

The report highlights certain ACA successes, including increased coverage of black, Hispanic, and white adults.

According to the study, “the difference in coverage between black and white adults decreased from 9.9 to 5.3 points, and between Hispanic and white adults decreased from 25.7 to 16.3 points.”

In addition, the report found that in the first two years of the pandemic, uninsured rates among black, Hispanic, and white adults improved in all states (whether or not they expanded Medicare coverage), We found that Hispanic adults experienced greater improvement. Between 2019 and 2021, insurance coverage increased over their white counterparts.