Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Health Care Access and Utilization Among Latinos

Racial/Ethnic Differential Effects of Medicaid Expansion on Health Care Access

“…Moreover, specific Latino subgroups (Mexican and Central American) were also found to have less coverage gains relative to non‐Latino whites (Alcala et al. ). Heterogeneous effects within the Latino group were further evidenced by one study examining 2014 Medicaid expansion; the effect size on uninsured rate ranges from −0.0087 to −0.0839 within Latinos and was −0.0427 for whites (Gonzales and Sommers ).…”

Effects of citizenship status, Latino ethnicity, and household language on health insurance coverage for U.S. adolescents, 2007‐2016

“…23 Spanish-speaking adults and those with Limited English Proficiency in certain Medicaid expansion states may have substantially reduced their uninsured rate, 24,25 although nationally, disparities in uninsurance remained entrenched for Spanish-speaking 23 and noncitizen Latinos post-ACA. 23,26 Among immigrants, the coverage gap between adult citizens and noncitizen immigrants was practically eliminated, 27 although a more recent study found that the uninsurance rate among adult noncitizen immigrants remained persistently high in states that did not expand Medicaid. 28 Generally, experts agree that the ACA also cemented certain inequities for noncitizens needing health care.…”

“…There is mixed evidence suggesting that the ACA may have narrowed (but not closed) some of these gaps for adults. Certain subpopulations of Latino adults experienced greater gains in insurance coverage after the ACA than non‐Latino whites . Spanish‐speaking adults and those with Limited English Proficiency in certain Medicaid expansion states may have substantially reduced their uninsured rate, although nationally, disparities in uninsurance remained entrenched for Spanish‐speaking and noncitizen Latinos post‐ACA .…”

Intra‐Ethnic Coverage Disparities among Latinos and the Effects of Health Reform

“…Most recently, Alcala et al. () published an analysis of insurance coverage and access to care among five Latino ethnicities using the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). They found that Mexicans and Central Americans were less likely to be insured than non‐Latino whites, whereas Cubans and Central Americans were more likely to have forgone care.…”

“…Meanwhile, awareness of the ACA remains low among Latinos (Garcia Mosqueira, Hua, and Sommers 2015), and despite the ACA, overall health care utilization rates are projected to remain below-average among recent immigrants compared to other groups (Vargas Bustamante and Chen 2014). Most recently, Alcala et al (2017) published an analysis of insurance coverage and access to care among five Latino ethnicities using the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). They found that Mexicans and Central Americans were less likely to be insured than non-Latino whites, whereas Cubans and Central Americans were more likely to have forgone care.…”