Biden-Harris Administration Releases Data Showing Historic Gains in Health Care Coverage in Minority Communities [press release]
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued five new reports today showing historic gains in health care coverage and highlighting increases in coverage among minority communities since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) coverage provisions. The coverage gains are in great part due to the Biden-Harris Administration’s continuous efforts to increase access to affordable, quality health care, especially in underserved communities, and underscore the importance of the Inflation Reduction Act’s tax breaks that lower health care costs and make marketplace plans more affordable. HHS also announced a new, historic $500 million investment in Navigators, who play a key role in helping people across the country sign up for health care, particularly in underserved communities who have been too often ignored.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is laser focused on making sure everyone can get health care, regardless of the color of their skin,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Today’s data show just how far we have come in reaching Black, Latino, Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, and American Indian and Alaskan Native populations, who are disproportionately uninsured. HHS is doubling down on our efforts by announcing another historic investment in Navigators, helping us continue to reach record enrollment in underserved communities.”
“President Biden firmly believes that health care is a right, not a privilege, and is committed to making sure that everyone one of us has the peace of mind that health insurance brings,” said White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden. “These reports show that by making health insurance more affordable, more accessible, and easier to sign up for, millions of Americans in underserved communities are now able to access the health care they need and deserve.”
“Behind the historic health equity gains championed by the Biden-Harris Administration are the countless communities we are connecting to health care coverage, often for the first time,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “The combination of asking the right questions and unprecedented investments in Marketplace outreach will help us better understand the communities we serve, making coverage more attainable than ever for people who are our neighbors, friends, and loved ones.”
Four new reports from HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) provide in-depth data on gains in health care coverage in minority communities between 2010 and 2022. The uninsurance rate for the following populations declined as follows from 2010-2022, based on available census data:
Black Americans: 20.9% to 10.8%
Latinos: 32.7% to 18%
Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI): 16.6% to 6.2%
American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN): 32.4% to 19.9%
Today, HHS is also releasing an ASPE issue brief titled, "Improving Access to Affordable and Equitable Health Coverage: A Review from 2010 to 2024,” which outlines the actions the Biden-Harris Administration has taken to help more people get and keep coverage after the previous Administration’ attempts to gut funding and enforcement.
-- Improving Access to Affordable and Equitable Health Coverage: A Review from 2010 to 2024
https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/improving-access-affordable-equitable-health-coverage
-- Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Care Among Black Americans: Recent Trends and Key Challenges
https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/health-insurance-coverage-access-care-black-americans
-- Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Care Among Latino Americans: Recent Trends and Key Challenges
https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/health-insurance-coverage-access-care-latinos
-- Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Care Among Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders: Recent Trends and Key Challenges
https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/health-insurance-coverage-among-aanhpis
-- Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Care among American Indians and Alaska Natives: Recent Trends and Key Challenges
https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/health-insurance-coverage-access-care-among-aian
Press release:
https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2024/06/07/biden-harris-administration-releases-data-showing-historic-gains-health-care-coverage-minority-communities.html