by 
Share On Social!
An article published by the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine has outlined the overall impact that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has had on healthcare access for Latinos.
In the U.S. Latinos have traditionally faced inequities and disparities in access to healthcare compared to Whites. With the passing of the ACA, Americans overall made historic gains in reducing the rates of the uninsured population. Latinos especially reached record lows in the number of uninsured individuals.
According to the study, despite the historic gains, Latinos perform worse on most measures of access to and utilization of their health care than Whites. The reasons for these disparities are multifaceted and include citizenship status, language, and socioeconomic status.
In order to reduce health disparities, it is critical to address inequities in programs, practices, and policies. Join our site, connect with others, and get involved.
Evidence gathered by the researchers suggests that the impact of the ACA among Latinos has differed by the language that is spoken in Latino households. In Oregon, for example, the percentage of Spanish-speaking Latinos without insurance dropped from 64.3% before the implementation of the ACA to 13.7% after Medicaid was expanded in the state.
Similarly, as part of California’s early expansion of coverage through a waiver made possible by ACA, the greatest gains in public coverage were among Latinos with limited English proficiency.
Prior to the implementation of the ACA, foreign-born Latinos had a “negative pattern of access to and utilization of health care” compared to U.S.-born Latinos. This trend has continued since the passing of the ACA due to its exclusion of undocumented individuals.
The overall results of that the ACA has been successful in reducing some disparities in access and in utilization of care. There has also been—as mentioned—a lack of impact on reducing disparities on undocumented Latinos.
You can read the full article here.
Read stories similar to this one:
- An updated guide on what #Medicare doesn’t cover has been released by @CMSGov. #SaludAmerica #HealthEquity http://salud.to/2mztXv7
- #OpenEnrollment sees large numbers sign up for Healthcare. #SaludAmerica #HealthEquity http://salud.to/2jZp9ZJ
By The Numbers
25.1
percent
of Latinos remain without health insurance coverage
