Health Affairs
Volume 37, Issue 9, 2018, Pages 1400-1408

Access-to-care differences between mexican-heritage and other latinos in California after the affordable care act (Article)

Bustamante A.V. , McKenna R.M. , Viana J. , Ortega A.N. , Chen J.
  • a Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), United States
  • b Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, United States
  • c Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health, UCLA, United States
  • d Department of Health Management and Policy, Drexel University Dornsife, School of Public Health, United States
  • e University of Maryland, College Park, United States

Abstract

We examined changes in health insurance coverage and access to and use of health care among adult (ages 18-64) Latinos in the US before (2007-13) and after (2014-16) implementation of the main provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Data from the California Health Interview Survey were used to compare respondents in the two periods. We used multivariable and decomposition regression analyses to investigate the role of documentation status in access disparities between Mexicans and other Latinos in California. Our findings show that after the implementation of these provisions in California, insurance coverage increased for US- and foreign-born Latinos, including undocumented Latinos. Our decomposition analyses show that after implementation, disparities between Mexicans and other Latinos declined with respect to having coverage and a usual source of care. Without the implementation of these provisions in 2014, these disparities would have been 5.76 percent and 0.31 percent larger, respectively. In contrast, legal documentation status was positively associated with disparities between Mexicans and other Latinos in having coverage and physician visits. If Mexican Latinos had had the same share of undocumented immigrants as other Latinos, disparities in health insurance coverage would have declined by 24.17 percent. © 2018 Project HOPE-The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

Author Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Index Keywords

regression analysis health care policy insurance health insurance human Insurance Coverage middle aged statistics and numerical data controlled study Health Surveys ethnology Mexico Insurance, Health Hispanic Americans Undocumented Immigrants interview United States Humans undocumented immigrant Hispanic California male decomposition female Mexican inheritance Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Article adult Healthcare Disparities health care disparity Health Services Accessibility documentation health care delivery health survey
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85053895830&doi=10.1377%2fhlthaff.2018.0416&partnerID=40&md5=3ab165255a26f51455c78a8c84c3ac18
DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2018.0416
ISSN: 02782715
Cited by: 4
Original Language: English