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Racial Equity and Health Policy

Immigrants

Many Lawfully Present Immigrants Will Lose Health Coverage Due to the 2025 Tax and Budget Law

This policy watch outlines the groups of lawfully present immigrants that will lose access to federally funded health coverage due to new restrictions on eligibility in the 2025 tax and budget law.
It also highlights the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) estimates of the number of lawfully present immigrants who will become uninsured due to the provisions, as well as estimated federal savings that will result.
CBO estimates that the law’s restrictions on eligibility will result in 1.4 million lawfully present immigrants becoming uninsured and reduce federal spending by $131 billion by 2034.

Related: Key Facts on Health Coverage of Immigrants

States Have Enacted or Proposed a Range of Legislation That Will Affect Immigrants’ Access to State-Funded Health Coverage

Role of Immigrants in the Hospital Workforce

Policy Bars Many Immigrants from a Broad Range of Federal Health and Social Supports

Potential Impacts of 2025 Budget Reconciliation on Health Coverage for Immigrant Families

Racism, Discrimination and Health

Physician Workforce Diversity by Race and Ethnicity

Racial and ethnic disparities in health remain persistent in the U.S. of health care services and broader social and economic factors that reflect historical and ongoing racism. One factor that can mitigate such disparities is when physicians and patients share the same racial or ethnic background.

Data show that in the U.S. Hispanic, Black, AIAN, and NHPI people were underrepresented among physicians relative to their share of the population. The widest gap was seen among Hispanic people, who comprised 20% of the total population but only 7% of the physician workforce.

Disappearing Federal Data: Implications for Addressing Health Disparities

State Reported Efforts to Address Health Disparities: A 50 State Review

KFF Survey on Racism, Discrimination and Health: Views on Racism and Trust in Key U.S. Institutions

Racial Disparities in Maternal and Infant Health: Current Status and Efforts to Address Them

Survey of Immigrants

A Majority of Lawfully Present Immigrants Are Worried They or a Family Member Could Be Detained or Deported

A new KFF poll finds six in 10 lawfully present immigrants say they worry about the possibility that they or a family member could be detained or deported, contributing to feelings of increased stress, anxiety, and other health problems. A companion report based on focus groups provides a window into how likely undocumented immigrants and their families are faring in the current immigration policy landscape.
Interactive Timeline

How History Has Shaped Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: A Timeline of Policies and Events

This interactive timeline explores how history has shaped racial and ethnic health disparities and the lasting effects that persist to this day.

The timeline describes major U.S. federal policies and events since the early 1800s that are linked to present-day health disparities. It also covers policies that impact health coverage and access to care, medicine, and social and economic policies that influence health as well as efforts to tackle inequalities.
the Essentials

  • Disparities in Health and Health Care: 5 Key Questions and Answers

    This brief provides an introduction to what health and health care disparities are, why it is important to address them, what the status of disparities is today, recent federal actions to address disparities, and key issues related to addressing disparities in the future.

  • Timeline: How History Has Shaped Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities

    This timeline offers a historical view of significant U.S. federal policies and events spanning the early 1800s to today that have influenced present-day health disparities.

  • Health Policy 101: Chapter on Race, Inequality and Health

    Addressing persistent racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care is important for improving the nation’s health and economic prosperity. KFF explains such disparities and the factors that drive them, examines the actions to address them, and outlines future considerations.

  • Key Data on Health and Health Care by Race and Ethnicity

    Racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care remain a persistent challenge in the United States. An updated KFF resource examines how people of color fare compared to White people across 64 measures of health, health care, and social determinants of health.

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  • Recent Widening of Racial Disparities in U.S. Life Expectancy Was Largely Driven by COVID-19 Mortality

    News Release

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. population experienced the most significant two-year decline in life expectancy in roughly a century, according to new research by KFF, with data showing that COVID-19 deaths disproportionately impacted people of color and exacerbating longstanding racial disparities in life expectancy. While overall U.S. life expectancy declined by 2.

  • Racial Disparities in Premature Deaths During the COVID-19 Pandemic

    Issue Brief

    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.

  • Nearly Half of Those Likely Eligible for DACA are Uninsured

    News Release

    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.

  • COVID-19 Cases, Deaths, and Vaccinations by Race/Ethnicity as of Winter 2022

    Issue Brief

    Over the course of the pandemic, racial disparities in cases and deaths have widened and narrowed. However, overall, Black, Hispanic, and American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) people have borne the heaviest health impacts of the pandemic. While Black and Hispanic people were less likely than their White counterparts to receive a vaccine during the initial phases of the vaccination rollout, these disparities have narrowed over time and reversed for Hispanic people.

  • How Recognizing Health Disparities for Black People is Important for Change

    Policy Watch

    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.

  • Section 1115 Waiver Watch: How California Will Expand Medicaid Pre-Release Services for Incarcerated Populations

    Policy Watch

    On January 26, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved California’s Section 1115 request to cover a package of reentry services for certain groups of incarcerated individuals 90 days prior to release. This approval is the first to include a partial waiver of the statutory Medicaid inmate exclusion policy, which prohibits Medicaid from paying for services provided during incarceration (except for inpatient services).