Affordable Care Act Responsible for Insuring More Americans, Including Minority Groups
By Consumers for Quality Care, on June 26, 2024
Reports released by the Health and Human Services Department (HHS), and covered by The New York Times, found that uninsured rates among minority groups — including Black, Hispanic, and Native Americans — have dropped since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law in 2010.
From 2010 to 2022, the percentage of Black Americans who were uninsured dropped from 21 percent to 11 percent, and the percentage of uninsured Hispanic Americans dropped from 33 percent to 18 percent. For Asian Americans, nearly 17 percent were uninsured in 2010 as compared with 6 percent in 2022. Finally, for Native Americans, the percentage of uninsured dropped from 32 percent to 20 percent. On top of all this, the disparity between uninsured Black and white Americans has also decreased. In 2010, the percentage of uninsured Black Americans was 8 percent higher than that of uninsured white Americans. In 2022, that disparity was cut in half.
The Affordable Care Act isn’t the only major reason for the drop in uninsured consumers. Federal health care subsidies enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and extended through 2025, are making coverage more affordable for consumers, increasing access to health coverage.
Between 2020 and 2023, Black and Hispanic consumer enrollment in ACA marketplaces nearly doubled, with 2024 already seeing record enrollment numbers. So far this year, an estimated 5 million Hispanic Americans, 2 million Black Americans, 2.5 million Asian Americans, and 200,000 Native Americans have enrolled in these health care marketplaces.
CQC celebrates the continued success of the ACA in helping a record number of Americans get insured and urges lawmakers to protect and strengthen this vital law, while also tackling the root causes that allow many insured and uninsured Americans to fall into medical debt.
