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Racial Equity and Health Policy

Racism, Discrimination and Health

Health Coverage by Race and Ethnicity, 2010-2024

This brief examines trends in health coverage by race and ethnicity from 2010 through 2024. Since 2010, there have been large gains in health coverage across racial and ethnic groups but racial and ethnic disparities in coverage persisted. The largest gains occurred after implementation of the ACA coverage expansions in 2014.

In 2024, the overall uninsured rate increased for the first time since 2019 as pandemic-era continuous enrollment in Medicaid came to an end, with significant increases among Hispanic, Black, and White people under age 65. Coverage disparities have persisted over time and, in some cases, widened despite earlier gains under the ACA.

Racial Disparities in Life Expectancy

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

Elimination of Federal Diversity Initiatives: Updates and Current Status

the Essentials

  • Health Coverage by Race and Ethnicity, 2010-2024

    There have been longstanding racial and ethnic disparities in health coverage that contribute to disparities in health. This brief examines trends in health coverage by race and ethnicity from 2010 through 2024 and discusses the implications for such disparities.

  • 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

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

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

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  • Section 1115 Waiver Watch: Medicaid Pre-Release Services for People Who Are Incarcerated

    Issue Brief

    In April 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released guidance encouraging states to apply for a new Section 1115 demonstration opportunity to test transition-related strategies to support community reentry for people who are incarcerated. As of August 19, 2024, CMS has approved Section 1115 reentry waiver requests from 11 states, while 13 additional reentry waivers remain pending.

  • Understanding the Diversity in the Asian Immigrant Experience in the U.S.

    Poll Finding

    Asian immigrants represent an important significant and growing share of the U.S. population, as well as a diverse body of experiences. Increased data on Asian immigrant experiences is important for understanding their diversity of experiences and focusing initiatives, policies, and resources to address the challenges they face.

  • 3 Charts: Asian Immigrants’ Experiences in the United States

    News Release

    Like other immigrants to the U.S., Asian immigrants overwhelmingly say they emigrated for the opportunity to build a better life for themselves and their children. They come from more than 30 countries, and their experiences – their economic circumstance, how safe they feel, and the discrimination they face - vary greatly once here, including differences by income level, immigration status and country of origin. These three charts explore the diversity of the Asian immigrant experience,…

  • Health and Access to Care and Coverage for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Individuals in the U.S.

    Issue Brief

    Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals often face challenges and barriers to accessing needed health services and, as a result, can experience worse health outcomes. These challenges can include stigma, discrimination, violence, and rejection by families and communities, as well as other barriers, such as inequality in the workplace and health insurance sectors, the provision of substandard care, and outright denial of care because of an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity. This issue…

  • Michigan’s Medicaid Section 1115 Waiver to Address Effects of Lead Exposure in Flint

    Fact Sheet

    On February 13, 2016, Governor Rick Snyder submitted a Medicaid Section 1115 Waiver proposal to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to address issues related to lead exposure in Flint, Michigan. This fact sheet provides some insight into the situation in Flint, Michigan, the history of Medicaid disaster relief waivers and the details of the Medicaid waiver request.

  • Health Coverage and Care of Undocumented Immigrants

    Issue Brief

    Recently, many of the Democratic presidential candidates indicated support for expanding health coverage to undocumented immigrants. To help inform the implications of such an expansion, this brief provides an overview of current health coverage and care for undocumented immigrants

  • Analysis: Immigrants Living along the Texas Gulf Coast Hit Hard Financially Following Hurricane Harvey

    News Release

    Immigrants living along the Texas Gulf Coast were more likely than their U.S.-born neighbors to suffer employment and income losses as a result of Hurricane Harvey (64% vs. 39%), a new Kaiser Family Foundation/Episcopal Health Foundation analysis finds. The analysis examines differences between immigrants and U.S.-born families based on a fall KFF/EHF survey of residents in 24 Texas counties hit hard by Hurricane Harvey in August 2017. Other findings include: Immigrants were more likely to…