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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

  • 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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  • Hurricane Harvey: The Experiences of Immigrants Living in the Texas Gulf Coast

    Report

    In order to better understand the particular needs of immigrants both in recovering from and preparing for future storms, this analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Episcopal Health Foundation highlights the views and experiences of foreign-born residents who were living in 24 coastal Texas counties hard-hit by Hurricane Harvey. Specifically, the brief explores the financial circumstances of immigrants following the storm, as well as their health care access, social support, and top priorities…

  • 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…

  • KFF Briefing Examines Progress and Remaining Challenges for the Health Care Systems in Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands Six Months After Hurricanes Irma and Maria

    News Release

    Six months after hurricanes Irma and Maria made landfall across Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, local officials described progress but also a long road to full recovery of the U.S. territories’ health care systems, economies and infrastructure during a public briefing Monday at the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Washington D.C. offices. An archived webcast of the 90-minute briefing on the status of the recovery on the islands, with a focus on their health care systems,…

  • New Nationwide Poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation and The Undefeated Reveals Distrust of the Health Care System Among Black Americans

    News Release

    Half of African Americans say they will not take a coronavirus vaccine KFF/The Undefeated poll shows disparate views on health care between Black and white America Poll results published on The Undefeated beginning today The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and The Undefeated have conducted a joint nationwide survey that explores the views and experiences of African Americans during the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the disproportionate impact of the virus on Black communities, 49 percent of African…

  • The COVID-19 Pandemic Has Taken a Higher Toll on Nursing Homes with Relatively High Shares of Black or Hispanic Residents

    News Release

    Nursing homes with a relatively high share of Black or Hispanic residents are more likely to have had a resident die of COVID-19 than homes with lower shares of such residents, finds a new KFF analysis. Nationwide, 63 percent of nursing homes with a relatively high share of Black residents reported one or more COVID-19 death, as did 55 percent of nursing homes with a relatively high share of Hispanic residents, finds the analysis. That…

  • Wide Variations in Flu Vaccination Rates Across States Highlight Challenges as State and Local Authorities Plan to Distribute a COVID-19 Vaccine

    News Release

    When a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available, all or most people living in the country will need to get vaccinated in order to maximize its benefits and provide adequate immunity nationwide. That could present a daunting challenge for state and local health officials, as a new KFF analysis shows vaccination rates for the annual flu vaccine vary widely across states as well as by race and ethnicity, age, and other demographic characteristics. The flu vaccine provides…

  • KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: December 2020

    Report

    This initial survey for the KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor tracks the public’s attitudes and experiences with COVID-19 vaccinations, with a focus on sub-groups of Americans. It explores confidence in vaccines, assesses trust in messengers, and highlights key challenges for vaccination efforts.

  • KFF Launches New COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor to Track the Public’s Confidence in the Vaccine and Experiences for the Duration of the Pandemic

    News Release

    Republicans and Black Americans are More Likely to Be Hesitant but Even Among These Groups Reasons Vary KFF has launched a new COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor to dive deeply into the public’s views about the vaccine and experiences getting it for as long as the pandemic lasts. First results released today show that Americans’ enthusiasm for getting a COVID-19 vaccination varies substantially across groups, with Republicans and Black Americans among those most hesitant. Overall, 71% of…

  • Among Non-Elderly Adults, Low-Income, American Indian/Alaska Native and Black Adults Have Higher Risk of Developing Serious Illness if Infected With Coronavirus

    News Release

    Among non-elderly adults, American Indian/Alaska Native and Black adults are more likely than Whites to be at higher risk of serious illness if infected with the new coronavirus -- chiefly due to a higher prevalence of underlying health conditions and longstanding disparities in health care and other socio-economic factors, according to a new KFF analysis. People in lower-income households are also at higher risk. The analysis finds that the share of non-elderly adults at higher…