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.

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

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

351-360 of 608 results

  • Health Coverage by Race and Ethnicity: The Potential Impact of the Affordable Care Act

    Issue Brief

    Executive Summary One of the key goals of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is to reduce the number of uninsured through a Medicaid expansion and the creation of health insurance exchange marketplaces with advance premium tax credits to help moderate-income individuals pay for this coverage. Given that people of color are at disproportionate risk of being uninsured and having low incomes, the ACA coverage expansions could particularly benefit communities of color and advance efforts to…

  • An Overview of HIV/AIDS in Black America

    Report

    Black Americans account for more HIV and AIDS cases, people estimated to be living with AIDS, and HIV-related deaths than any other racial/ethnic group in the U.S. Today, Black Americans make up about 12 percent of the U.S. population, but account for half of all new AIDS cases. And, despite medical advances which have sharply reduced HIV-related mortality rates for all racial/ethnic groups, HIV death rates are still significantly higher for Black Americans than other…

  • Putting Men’s Health Care Disparities On The Map: Examining Racial and Ethnic Disparities at the State Level

    Report

    This report documents the persistence of disparities between white men and men of color -- and among different groups within men of color -- on 22 indicators of health and well-being, including rates of diseases such as AIDS, cancer, heart disease and diabetes, as well as insurance coverage and health screenings. It also catalogues disparities in factors that influence health and access to care such as income and education, and other social determinants of health.

  • Puerto Rico: Fast Facts

    Fact Sheet

    Puerto Rico: Fast Facts provides a quick snapshot of the island's demographic, health, and economic characteristics. It also provides some information on federal Medicaid rules, infrastructure, and fiscal challenges ahead.

  • 8 Preguntas & Respuestas sobre Puerto Rico

    Fact Sheet

    La crisis de $73 mil millones de Puerto Rico ha sido tema de los medios de comunicación nacionales, y de debate en el Congreso en los últimos meses. Además, varios de los principales medios de prensa han reportado sobre una inminente crisis de la atención de salud relacionada con cuestiones demográficas y del financiamiento del cuidado de salud, y exacerbada por la actual situación económica y el aumento de casos de trasmisión del virus del…

  • The COVID-19 Outbreak and Food Production Workers: Who is at Risk?

    Issue Brief

    The federal government has deemed workers in the food and agricultural sector part of the essential critical infrastructure workforce. Moreover, under recent a Presidential Executive Order, meat and poultry processing plants must continue operations to prevent disruption in the food supply chain. Workers in these industries face risk for coronavirus exposure due to their continued work outside the home, with many facing increased risks due to close quarters in their working environment. The Centers for…

  • Who are the 3.4 Million People Who Work in the Nation’s Food Production Industries?

    News Release

    Roughly 3.4 million individuals work in food production industries, more than a third of them in animal production and processing where there have been several COVID-19 outbreaks, a new KFF analysis shows. Workers at meat and poultry plants face a higher risk of coronavirus exposure due to the close quarters of their workplaces. The majority of workers in food production – which also include crop production, seafood, and other food manufacturing-- are White and U.S.…

  • Poll: 7 in 10 Black Americans Say They Have Experienced Incidents of Discrimination or Police Mistreatment in Their Lifetime, Including Nearly Half Who Felt Their Lives Were in Danger

    News Release

    Most of the Public Favor a Range of Police Reforms to Curb Excessive Force, though Partisan Gaps Exist on Some Key Proposals Amid nationwide protests against racial bias in law enforcement and beyond, a new KFF poll finds that the vast majority (71%) of Black Americans say they’ve experienced some form of racial discrimination or mistreatment during their lifetimes – including nearly half (48%) who say at one point that they felt their life was…

  • Health Care Experiences of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander Adults

    Issue Brief

    A new issue brief based on focus groups conducted by KFF among NHPI adults living in Hawaii and the continental U.S. highlights barriers NHPI people face when accessing health care, including geographic isolation, limited system capacity, and language access. In their own words, participants describe both positive and negative experiences in health care settings and discuss concerns about mental health in their communities.