Health Reform and Communities of Color: Implications for Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities

Abstract

By 2045, more than half of the population in the U.S. will be a person of color. In general, people of color continue to experience worse access to health care and worse health outcomes than their white counterparts. The economic and opportunity costs associated with disparities are shared by everyone through money spent on preventable medical care and lost productivity in the workplace, among other things. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, enacted by Congress and signed by President Obama in March, extends health coverage to many of the millions of individuals who would otherwise remain uninsured, and includes several provisions that will either directly or indirectly impact racial and ethnic health disparities. People of color have much to gain from health reform. Although they represent one-third of the total U.S. population, they comprise more than 50 percent of the uninsured.