Access to Medicare is making a marked difference in reducing race-related healthcare disparities, according to a new study.
The July 26 JAMA Internal Medicine study saw more Black and Hispanic patients gain coverage after turning 65 years old than their white counterparts.
Black coverage increased by 9.5 percentage points and Hispanic coverage increased 13.9 percentage points compared to white coverage, which only increased by 6.5 percentage points.
Each jump in coverage reduced the disparity between white and Black or Hispanic patients by over 50 percent.
Overall, turning 65 years old decreased the amount of Black and Hispanic respondents who self-reported having poor health by 2.6 and 3.8 percentage points respectively.