This week began and ended with legal challenges to the constitutionality of the provision in the nation’s new health care reform law that would require individuals to carry health insurance. On Monday, a federal judge in Virginia ruled that the mandate is unconstitutional; on Thursday, a federal judge in Florida began hearing arguments.
Also on Thursday, the Washington-based Center for American Progress released two reports that explore the Affordable Care Act’s impact on racial and ethnic minorities who suffer from chronic illnesses and how the legislation can improve efforts to address gaps in the data that measure health care disparities.
“There has been considerable debate this week around efforts to dismantle health care reform,” said the reports’ author, Dr. Lesley Russell, a senior fellow at the think tank, during a conference call with reporters. “Unfortunately, we’ve not heard in that noisy debate the voices of [all of the racial and ethnic groups] whose current health care is currently substandard and who will gain so much from the provisions in the Affordable Care Act.” Russell added that she hopes her reports will change that and make their case.
One report, “Easing the Burden,” focuses on the provisions that would improve access to health insurance coverage, primary care and patient literacy and those that would address disparities in treatment and quality of care.
“In particular, chronically ill Americans from racial and ethnic minorities have much to gain from the Affordable Care Act. They are more likely to be without health insurance coverage. They make up more than half of America’s uninsured and suffer higher rates of chronic illness than the general population,” Russell said. “They’re more likely to have risk factors, such as obesity, that predispose them to chronic illnesses and they’re less likely to receive the preventive screenings, regular care and necessary meds that could prevent or ameliorate their conditions.”
Jacqueline Ayers, legislative director for health and education at the National Urban League, said that the bill’s investment in community health centers will enormously benefit minorities and others who are medically underserved and will help to increase responsive and timely care that can improve disease management while controlling costs.
The second report, “Measuring the Gaps,” highlights provisions in the bill to expand requirements for collecting and analyzing data on health care disparities and how that can help drive efforts to understand and address those disparities.
