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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

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  • African American and HIV/AIDS Survey – News Release

    Other Post

    Despite Widespread Concern About AIDS, Few African Americans See 'A Lot' of Action From Community Groups and Government in Fight Against Disease African Americans Want Practical Help on HIV/AIDS:How to Talk with Children and Partners, More Information About Testing and Treatment Media Named As Most Important Resource on HIV/AIDS Embargoed for release until: 9:00 am, ET, Tuesday, March 17, 1998 Boston, MA -- As African Americans make up a growing percent of new AIDS cases…

  • Perceptions of How Race & Ethnic Background Affect Medical Care

    Report

    This document is a summary of the findings from twelve separate focus groups conducted to better understand how race and ethnic background affect medical care. Seven of the focus groups were minority American health care consumers and the other five focus groups were largely white health care professionals and hospital administrators.

  • AIDS… A Crisis Among African-American Youth

    Fact Sheet

    A fact sheet on HIV, how it is transmitted, how to protect yourself against HIV, and information on testing and treatments for HIV. This fact sheet is available as part of a partnership with BET Teen Summit Town Hall specials. Fact Sheet

  • The Role of Language in Health Care Access and Utilization for Insured Hispanic Adults

    Issue Brief

    The ACA coverage expansions may help mitigate some barriers people with limited English proficiency (LEP) face in accessing coverage and care. However, individuals with LEP may still face increased barriers to care with coverage. This analysis examines differences in health care experiences between English- and Spanish-speaking Hispanic adults with insurance using data from the 2014 Kaiser Survey of Low-Income Americans and the ACA.

  • Voices from Puerto Rico: Reflections Two Months After Maria (Report)

    Issue Brief

    Two months after Maria made landfall, Kaiser Family Foundation staff traveled to Puerto Rico. This brief presents findings from focus groups and individual interviews with 40 individuals from 10 different regions on the island affected by the storm.

  • U.S. Virgin Islands: Fast Facts

    Fact Sheet

    This fact sheet presents demographic, economic, and health indicators of the U.S. Virgin Islands and briefly discusses some of the territory's short and long-term challenges facing the territory after Hurricanes Irma and Maria struck the island in September 2017.

  • Key Data on Health and Health Care for Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander People

    Issue Brief

    Among NHPI people, there is significant variation in key factors that influence health, including health coverage, income, and homeownership, with Marshallese people faring the worst across all examined measures. Data gaps prevent the ability to fully identify and understand health disparities for NHPI people. Among available data, NHPI people fare worse than White people for the majority of measures.

  • Loneliness and Social Support Networks: Findings from the KFF Survey of Racism, Discrimination and Health 

    Poll Finding

    The issues of loneliness and social isolation gained attention during the COVID-19 pandemic, and continue to be associated with poor mental and physical health conditions. One in six (15%) adults report feeling always or often lonely in the past year, with the highest shares among young adults ages 18-29. There is a strong relationship between feelings of loneliness, local support networks, and physical and mental health and well-being, but Black, Hispanic, and Asian adults are…

  • The Role of Health Coverage for Communities of Color

    Issue Brief

    The current health reform debate in this country focuses heavily on providing access to affordable health coverage for the millions of people who are uninsured. Any effort to expand coverage, alter current public programs, and/or create new public programs will have important consequences for the health of communities of color, who are more likely than Whites to be enrolled in public programs or be uninsured. This issue brief highlights variations in coverage by race and…