The ACA helped reduce racial disparities in access to care, according to a study published by The Commonwealth Fund.
The study found racial disparities in the percentage of uninsured adults, the percentage of adults who skip care due to cost and the percentage of adults who lack a primary care provider were reduced between 2013 and 2015. Researchers found the black-white disparity in uninsured rates dropped 4 percentage points and the Hispanic-white disparity dropped 7 percentage points over this time period. The disparity in the percentage of adults forgoing care due to cost narrowed between blacks and whites by 2 percentage points and between Hispanics and whites by 3 percentage points. The racial disparity in the percentage of people without a regular primary care physician declined among both blacks and Hispanics by 3 percentage points.
Researchers also found disparities were reduced further in Medicaid expansion states.
"The ACA's coverage expansions have been successful in increasing access to healthcare among whites, blacks and Hispanics and in reducing long-standing disparities based on race and ethnicity. Despite this progress, persistent gaps in access to care remain," the report reads. "While insurance coverage may not eliminate disparities in healthcare access, it does help to reduce them."
Read the full report here.
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