Racial Equity and Health Policy

June marks National Immigrant Heritage Month, which honors the contributions of immigrants to the U.S. As of 2020, there were close to 45 million immigrants residing in the U.S., accounting for 14% of the total U.S. population. Immigrants make up a significant part of the nation’s workforce and families yet…

In this issue brief, we use 2020 data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) to examine key characteristics, coverage and health status of nonelderly adults with mental illness or substance use disorders to help inform ongoing federal and state efforts to improve quality and expand access.

While climate change effects ripple across the world and all populations, it is poised to disproportionately affect people of color, low-income communities, immigrants, and other high-need groups. Many of these groups have historically been exposed to climate hazards due to government policies and discriminatory practices that leave them more vulnerable…

The Nation Overall Also Experienced Higher Rates of Premature Deaths than Peer Countries During the COVID-19 pandemic, people of color on average died at younger ages than White adults, resulting in substantial racial disparities in premature death and years of life lost, a new analysis finds. The analysis examines the…

This analysis examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by race and ethnicity through the lens of premature mortality, using the measures of premature mortality rate and years of life lost among excess deaths that occurred during the pandemic.

Yesterday, the Biden Administration announced a plan to expand eligibility for Medicaid and ACA Marketplace health coverage to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. A KFF analysis finds 47% of individuals likely eligible for DACA are uninsured compared to 10% of U.S. born individuals in their age group. The…

Ongoing racism and discrimination, police violence against and killings of Black people, and gun violence also negatively impact health and well-being of Black people. Black people’s repeated and chronic exposure to stressors associated with racism and discrimination drive rapid biological aging and poorer health outcomes.

Response to the victims and communities affected by recent mass shootings has increased national attention to mental health care for Asian and NHOPI people, groups that too often remain overlooked in data and policy discussions related to health disparities. In this analysis, we explore mental illness and low utilization of mental health services among Asian and NHOPI people.

This issue brief provides the latest update on some key evolving immigration policies, including Title 42 as it applies to border enforcement, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and the public charge rule and discusses the implications of these policies for the health and well-being of immigrants.

With intense immigration activity at the U.S.-Mexico border this year and attention focused on the plight of newly arriving migrants, a new KFF analysis finds communities along the border faced an array of socioeconomic challenges and weak health infrastructures well before this year’s surge. Texas – which has the most…