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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.

Also: HHS’s Elimination of Disparate Impact to Determine Discrimination: Potential Implications for Health and Health Care

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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  • Kaiser Family Foundation/National Association of Black Journalists 1998 National Survey on Blacks, Media & Health

    Report

    A national survey of 800 African Americans, plus an additional general population sample of 800 Americans, examining perceptions about the media's coverage of health issues that most concern and impact African Americans. This survey was conducted jointly by the Foundation and the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) for presentation at the NABJ's annual conference being held in Washington, DC on Friday, July 31st, 1998. TOPLINE Download CHARTPACK Download NEWS RELEASE Download

  • Coverage and Access of Adults 18-64 in the District of Columbia: Key Facts

    Fact Sheet

    This fact sheet summarizes the findings of the DC Health Access Survey, released in the Fall of 2003. It includes information on topics including: the demographics of the uninsured adults in the District of Columbia, findings about where and to what extent uninsured adults in the District of Columbia get medical care, and financial barriers to care. Fact Sheet (.pdf) Survey Highlights, Chartpack, and Toplines

  • Survey of Hurricane Katrina Evacuees

    Report

    To give voice to people whose lives have been devastated by Hurricane Katrina and the ensuing floods, The Washington Post, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health conducted a unique survey of evacuees in shelters in the Houston area. The provides information on evacuees' lives before the hurricane and inside Houston area shelters, as well as their plans for the future. The survey also includes a number of health-related questions, including…

  • What’s the Diagnosis? Latinos, Media & Health: A Series of Three Reports – Report

    Report

    What's the Diagnosis? A Series of Three Reports on Latinos, Media & Health Summary of Key Findings June 1998 Overview: A Series of 3 Reports Latinos are disproportionately affected by some of the most serious health problems facing our country. They are more likely to be uninsured and face problems getting health care when needed. Young Latinos, in particular, are confronting very high rates of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Latinos have also…

  • Medicare’s Role for Latinos

    Fact Sheet

    Medicare's Role for Latinos Fact Sheet: The Medicare Program: Medicare's Role For Latinos

  • Medicaid’s Role for Hispanic Americans

    Fact Sheet

    This fact sheet examines Medicaid's role for Hispanic Americans. It includes data on Medicaid's coverage of Hispanic Americans and the program's impact on their access to care, as well as the impacts of the recent recession and the coming expansion of Medicaid under health reform on enrollment in Medicaid among Hispanic Americans. The fact sheet also has a chart showing state-by-state data on health insurance coverage of Hispanic Americans. Fact Sheet (.pdf)

  • Health Care Coverage and Access for Hispanics: How Does It Differ Across America

    Event Date:
    Event

    A new report from the Foundation's Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured finds that as the Hispanic population grows and moves beyond urban centers, Hispanics in "new growth communities" face greater barriers to health care than those in cities considered "major Hispanic centers." By 2003, the uninsured rate for Hispanics in new growth communities rose to a level equal to that of Hispanics in major centers. However, less than half (43%) of the Hispanic…

  • Survey of Asians In the Bay Area – Toplines

    Poll Finding

    This document includes the toplines from a survey exploring the attitudes and experiences of the Asian community in the Bay Area, which has the largest Asian population in the country. The Kaiser Family Foundation and San Jose Mercury News collaborated on the survey. Survey Toplines (.pdf)

  • The Role of Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage for Immigrants: A Primer

    Issue Brief

    Access to employer-sponsored health insurance is declining for all families living in the United States, and this problem is especially acute for immigrant families. Employer-sponsored coverage is a particularly important source of insurance for immigrant families since their eligibility for public coverage through Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is restricted. This primer examines the role of employer-based coverage for immigrants and the specific hurdles they face in obtaining this coverage. Issue…