Racial/Ethnic Differences in Uninsurance Rates Under the ACA

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) will lead to substantial reductions in the number of uninsured by 2016, even with just 27 states and DC expanding Medicaid, according to projections. A new report from the Urban Institute looks at the first state-level projections of coverage gains under the ACA for detailed racial and ethnic groups and subgroups.

The report finds uninsurance rates are projected to fall for each racial/ethnic group with current Medicaid expansion decisions under the ACA. This narrows racial and ethnic coverage differences between whites and each minority group, except for blacks. This is because a disproportionately large share of blacks lives in nonexpansion states.

If all states were to expand their Medicaid programs, uninsurance rates are projected to fall further for all racial and ethnic groups, with blacks experiencing a marked reduction in uninsurance rates and a narrowing of the difference between black and white uninsurance rates.

Read the report: http://urbn.is/1vWQb25