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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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  • Does Education Narrow the Gap in Wealth Among Older Adults, by Race and Ethnicity?

    Issue Brief

    This analysis of per capita income and assets among older adults in 2019 shows that differences in median per capita income among White, Black, and Hispanic adults ages 65 and older are narrower when comparing people with similar levels of education, although among college graduates, the gap in income continues to be wide between Hispanic and White seniors. The gaps in savings and home equity remain wide, and are particularly striking among seniors with less…

  • New Brief Examines COVID-19 Risks and Impacts for Health Care Workers by Race and Ethnicity

    News Release

    New coronavirus cases in the United States have hit daily records multiple times in the past week and hospitalizations are rising in several areas of the country. Health care workers face some of the greatest risk of exposure to the coronavirus and a new KFF brief examines the composition of the workforce and how the risks and the impact of the pandemic on this workforce vary across racial/ethnic groups. With prospects for a successful vaccine…

  • 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…

  • Political Preferences and Views on U.S. Immigration Policy Among Immigrants in the U.S.: A Snapshot from the 2023 KFF/LA Times Survey of Immigrants

    Poll Finding

    This report based on the KFF-Los Angeles Times partnership survey explores the diverse views of immigrants on the politics and policies surrounding immigration law – a polarizing political issue that rarely includes the views of immigrants themselves, most of whom are naturalized U.S. citizens eligible to vote in elections.

  • New KFF Survey Documents the Extent and Impact of Racism and Discrimination Across Several Facets of American Life, Including Health Care 

    News Release

    In a reflection of how pervasive racism and discrimination can be in daily life, a major new KFF survey shows that many Hispanic, Black, Asian, and American Indian and Alaska Native adults in the U.S. believe they must modify both their mindset and the way they look to stave off potential mistreatment during health care visits. KFF’s 2023 Survey on Racism, Discrimination and Health, the first in a series, also documents the pernicious association of racism…

  • 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.

  • D.C. Health Care Access Survey, 2003

    Report

    The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation District of Columbia Health Care Access Survey, 2003, is based on a representative sample of 1,581 adults, ages 18 and older, living in Washington, DC. The survey is intended to inform discussion of health care issues in the District of Columbia by examining the views and experiences of some of the city's most vulnerable populations, as well as the general population. It provides an opportunity to assess health care…

  • Survey of Asians in the Bay Area

    Report

    Survey of Asians In the Bay Area This survey explores 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. The Bay Area is home to the largest Asian population in the continental United States. In 2002, the census estimated that roughly one in five Bay Area adults was of Asian…