Home Racial Equity and Health Policy Topics

Racial Equity and Health Policy

Racism, Discrimination and Health

Proposed Changes in the Census Could Impact Efforts to Address Health Disparities

The proposed changes would effectively prohibit the counting of many noncitizen immigrants, including undocumented immigrants and some lawfully present immigrants, and ban the inclusion of questions on race and ethnicity from the decennial census.

Health Coverage by Race and Ethnicity, 2010-2024

The Growing Use of Artificial Intelligence in Health Care and Implications for Disparities

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

Overview of Health Coverage and Care for Individuals with Limited English Proficiency

the Essentials

  • How Experiencing Racial Discrimination Impacts Health

    This brief highlights research examining mechanisms underlying health outcomes linked to self-reported experiences of racial discrimination, including biological changes, chronic stress, mental health, substance use, pregnancy-related outcomes, and sleep.

  • 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.
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.

Survey of Immigrants

KFF-New York Times Survey: Immigrants Report Rising Fear, Negative Economic and Health Impacts, and Changing Political Views During the First Year of President Trump’s Second Term

The 2025 Survey of Immigrants, a partnership between KFF and The New York Times, takes an in-depth look at the experiences of immigrants during the first year of President Trump’s second term, including their worries related to increased immigration enforcement, their health and economic wellbeing, and the political views and preferences of immigrant voters. The survey paints a portrait of families under strain — where fear of detention and economic instability are negatively impacting immigrants’ health and reshaping immigrant families’ daily lives and views of U.S. political parties.

Read the News Release | Explore The New York Times’ Reporting

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

Recent State Actions Related to Immigrants’ Access to Services and Immigration Enforcement

Health Issues for Immigrants in Detention Centers

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

Role of Immigrants in the Hospital Workforce

Latest News

More KFF Health News

Stay informed.

Get KFF's latest on Racial Equity and Health Policy

Stay informed.

Get KFF's latest on Racial Equity and Health Policy

View the Latest: Racial Equity and Health Policy

Filter

List Grid

231-240 of 605 results

  • May 20 Web Event: Latinos and the Nation’s COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout

    Event Date:
    Event

    New Campaign from THE CONVERSATION / LA CONVERSACIÓN to Address Information Needs in the Community KFF and UnidosUS presented an interactive web event on Thursday, May 20th on the latest insights on what is working and what barriers must be overcome in ensuring equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccines for Latinos in the U.S., including new KFF survey findings from the community. KFF analysis of state-reported data shows Hispanic and Black people have received smaller…

  • New Campaign from THE CONVERSATION / LA CONVERSACIÓN Responds to Information Needs about COVID-19 Vaccines Among Latinos and Spanish-speaking People in U.S.

    News Release

    News Release May 20, 2021 – THE CONVERSATION / LA CONVERSACIÓN expands to address information needs about the COVID-19 vaccines in the Latinx community with new videos featuring doctors, nurses and promotoras (community health workers) in English and Spanish. This installment of the campaign is produced by KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) under its Greater Than COVID public information response and presented with UnidosUS. “THE CONVERSATION / LA CONVERSACIÓN campaign—and our efforts with the UnidosUS Esperanza Hope for…

  • How Employer Actions Could Facilitate Equity in COVID-19 Vaccinations

    Policy Watch

    Providing paid time off to employees to get and recover from any side effects could help boost vaccination rates. Overall, nearly three in ten (28%) employed adults who not yet ready to get the vaccine say that they would be more likely to get the COVID-19 vaccine if their employer gave them paid time off to get vaccinated and recover from any side effects.

  • KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: COVID-19 Vaccine Access, Information, and Experiences Among Hispanic Adults in the U.S.

    Feature

    This report from the KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor examines vaccine attitudes and experiences among Hispanic adults in the U.S., including key groups such as those with lower incomes, the uninsured, and those who are potentially undocumented. It finds that many unvaccinated Hispanic adults are eager to get a COVID-19 vaccine, and barriers to access include information gaps, cost concerns, requests for documentation, and immigration concerns.

  • Early COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts Through Community Health Centers Are Reaching People of Color

    News Release

    More than half of those who received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine through a community health center were people of color, suggesting that health centers appear to be doing a better job of reaching people of color than are overall vaccination efforts, finds a new KFF analysis. People of color accounted for 54 percent of people who got their first dose of the vaccine through a health center, the analysis finds, including 26 percent…

  • How are States Addressing Racial Equity in COVID-19 Vaccine Efforts?

    Issue Brief

    This brief reviews information available through state websites and publicly available vaccine distribution plans to provide greater insight into how states are addressing equity through vaccine allocation and distribution strategies, outreach and communications efforts, and data collection and reporting. It provides a snapshot and examples of state efforts in these areas.

  • THE CONVERSATION: Between Us, About Us, A New Campaign By Black Health Care Workers for Black People about the COVID-19 Vaccines

    News Release

    March 4, 2021 – THE CONVERSATION: Between Us, About Us. is a new campaign to provide Black communities with credible information about the COVID-19 vaccines co-developed by KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) and the Black Coalition Against COVID. Black doctors, nurses and researchers dispel misinformation and provide accessible facts in 50 FAQ videos that deliver the information Black people are asking for about the COVID-19 vaccines. More videos and voices will be added to this one-of-its-kind…