The Commonwealth Fund's recently released Scorecard on State Health System Performance for Low-Income Populations finds that people who live in households with below-average incomes are disproportionately at risk for experiencing the shortcomings of the U.S. health care system. With the Affordable Care Act, however, state and local leaders now have significant new resources and tools to begin to close the geographic and income divide in health care.
In a new issue brief, Commonwealth Fund researchers show which provisions of the health reform law will most benefit Americans with low or modest incomes, including: affordable health insurance options, initiatives to strengthen primary care and improve care coordination, support for providers serving low-income communities, greater accountability for the quality and cost of care, and investments in public health.