California Healthline
Analysts credit the improved coverage rates to the state’s implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Latinos are the only group that still shows a significant disparity to other ethnic groups. And, now that the health law marketplaces are open for business, news outlets detail what’s different this year and offer consumers advice.
The California Health Report: Health Coverage Disparities Eliminated Under ACA For Most Racial Groups, Report Finds
African Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders living in California are just as likely to have health insurance as whites, marking a significant turnaround from five years ago, new data shows. The report, based on survey data from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, shows the uninsured rate for all racial and ethnic groups other than Latinos hovering between 4 and 7 percent in 2017, a statistically insignificant difference. That compares to 2013, when African Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders were almost a third more likely than whites to be uninsured. Analysts attributed the change to California’s implementation of the Affordable Care Act in 2014, which has expanded health care coverage to more people, largely by widening eligibility for Medi-Cal and providing insurance subsidies for people with low to moderate incomes. (Boyd-Barrett, 11/1)