Latinos and Blacks Have Made Major Gains Under the ACA, But Disparities Remain
<p>In the three years since the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) health insurance marketplaces opened and states began to expand Medicaid eligibility, uninsured rates among Latinos and blacks have declined significantly. Still, Latinos are more likely than any other racial or ethnic group to lack health coverage.</p><p>In a recently published <em>To the Point</em> post analyzing findings from The Commonwealth Fund’s ACA Tracking Survey, Michelle Doty and colleagues explain that undocumented immigration status—which prevents people from participating in the ACA marketplaces—is likely a major reason why so many Latinos remain uninsured. Forty-three percent of foreign-born Latinos are uninsured, compared with 14 percent of U.S.-born.</p>
<p>Reaching the remaining uninsured, the authors say, will depend on immigration reform, as well as states’ decisions on expanding Medicaid and funding for outreach and enrollment assistance.</p>