The Effects of the Affordable Care Act on Health Disparities

Ample evidence has shown that there are significant disparities in health needs between racial groups when controlling for socioeconomic status, and differences in health coverage may contribute to these disparities. For example, the average life expectancy of African-Americans in 2010 was four years shorter than that of whites; in 2009, the proportion of nonelderly adults lacking insurance was far higher among African-Americans and Hispanics (24% and 43% respectively) than among non-Hispanic whites (16%). The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was designed to provide greater options in regards to health care coverage, but it is not clear how the ACA might reduce disparities in health.

Economists Tom Buchmueller, Helen Levy, and Barbara Wolfe will draft a report on the probable effects of the ACA on racial health disparities. They seek to answer the following questions: How is the Affordable Care Act expected to reduce racial disparities in insurance coverage? To what extent does existing evidence suggest that these changes in insurance coverage will subsequently reduce racial disparities in access to health care and in health outcomes? Drawing on the 2012 American Community Survey, the Current Population Survey, and the National Health Interview Survey, the report will provide an overview of these issues for researchers who may not be familiar with the ACA, as well as for researchers and practitioners who are familiar with the ACA but may not yet have considered the ACA’s ramifications for disparities.