The Affordable Care Act and African Americans
The Affordable Care Act is making health insurance coverage more affordable and accessible for millions of Americans. For African Americans, like other racial and ethnic minorities, the law addresses inequities and increases access to quality, affordable health coverage. The Affordable Care Act invests in prevention and wellness, and gives individuals and families more control over their care.
African Americans suffer from higher rates of a range of illnesses as compared to the general population. African Americans have the highest mortality rate of any racial and ethnic group for all cancers combined and for most major cancers individually, including stomach, liver, prostate, and colon cancers1. Even though the rate of breast cancer incidence is 10 percent lower among African American women, they are 40 percent more likely to die from the disease. 7 Earlier screening and detection for African American women could help reduce this death rate. Although African American adults are 40 percent more likely to have high blood pressure2, they are 18 percent less likely than their non-Hispanic White counterparts to have their blood pressure under control3. In addition, black adults are less likely than non-Hispanic white adults to have received the flu vaccine in the past year.4 African American adults are also twice as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes5. The infant mortality rate among African Americans is 2.3 times that of non-Hispanic whites; black infants are four times more likely than non-Hispanic white infants to die due to complications related to low birthweight6.
At the same time, African-Americans are 55 percent more likely to be uninsured than white Americans.
Expanding opportunities for coverage, and providing no-cost screenings and quality disease management to patients, can improve health outcomes for African Americans.
Through the Health Insurance Marketplace, 6.8 million uninsured African Americans have new opportunities for affordable health insurance coverage. Young adults ages 18 to 35 account for nearly half (3.2 million; 47 percent) of African Americans who are uninsured and may be eligible for the Marketplace, but only 30 percent of the eligible African American population overall.
Read More: http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/facts/factsheets/2012/04/aca-and-african-americans04122012a.html
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