A recent study co-authored by associate professor of health, society, and behavior Dylan H. Roby, PhD, from the UCI Program in Public Health, found that U.S. Latinos saw an increase in the likelihood of being uninsured, visiting the emergency department, and delaying care due to cost following the elimination of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) individual mandate compared to Black and White populations.
Results were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Researchers compared observations from the period when the health insurance mandate penalty was in full effect (2016-2018) and the year the mandate was eliminated (2019) to understand the impacts of the policy change on coverage and access to care. They found that Latino populations were nearly twice as likely to become uninsured than non-Latino Black and White populations, despite an increased likelihood of having a usual source of care at the time.
The study adds to a growing body of literature that associates the ACA with improvements in health insurance coverage and care, and its repeal with deepening disparities. Findings from the study underscore the need for states to fill gaps where federal policy lags by expanding Medicaid, enhancing community health services, and providing vulnerable populations with better health care safety nets.
