Inequities in Health Insurance Coverage and Access for Black and Hispanic Adults: The Impact of Medicaid Expansion and the Pandemic

A new Commonwealth Fund report, Inequities in Health Insurance Coverage and Access for Black and Hispanic Adults: The Impact of Medicaid Expansion and the Pandemic, examines how adults’ healthcare coverage and access for Black, Hispanic, and White Americans changed during the 2019-2021 period and analyzes earlier healthcare trend data for these groups since 2013, before the ACA’s major coverage expansions went into effect. Between 2013-2021, uninsured rates fell 15.7 percentage points for Hispanic adults, 10.9 points for Black adults, and 6.3 points for White adults. Key findings show coverage disparities narrowed considerably, uninsured rates for adults across racial and ethnic groups improved and in states that expanded Medicaid, uninsured rates were lower and racial and ethnic disparities were smaller.