Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume 19, Issue 4, 2017, Pages 921-928

Health Benefits Mandates and Their Potential Impacts on Racial/Ethnic Group Disparities in Insurance Markets (Article)

Charles S.A.* , Ponce N. , Ritley D. , Guendelman S. , Kempster J. , Lewis J. , Melnikow J.
  • a Department of Health Science, California State University Fullerton, 800 N. State College Boulevard, Fullerton, CA 92831, United States
  • b Department of Health Policy and Management, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, United States
  • c Department of Family and Community Medicine, UC Davis, Davis, CA, United States
  • d School of Public Health, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
  • e Center for Healthcare Policy, UC San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
  • f California Health Benefits Review Program, Oakland, CA, United States
  • g Department of Family and Community Medicine, UC Davis, Davis, CA, United States

Abstract

Addressing racial/ethnic group disparities in health insurance benefits through legislative mandates requires attention to the different proportions of racial/ethnic groups among insurance markets. This necessary baseline data, however, has proven difficult to measure. We applied racial/ethnic data from the 2009 California Health Interview Survey to the 2012 California Health Benefits Review Program Cost and Coverage Model to determine the racial/ethnic composition of ten health insurance market segments. We found disproportional representation of racial/ethnic groups by segment, thus affecting the health insurance impacts of benefit mandates. California’s Medicaid program is disproportionately Latino (60 % in Medi-Cal, compared to 39 % for the entire population), and the individual insurance market is disproportionately non-Latino white. Gender differences also exist. Mandates could unintentionally increase insurance coverage racial/ethnic disparities. Policymakers should consider the distribution of existing racial/ethnic disparities as criteria for legislative action on benefit mandates across health insurance markets. © 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Author Keywords

State health policy Benefit mandates Health insurance Racial/ethnic group disparities

Index Keywords

insurance health insurance Continental Population Groups ancestry group human Insurance Coverage middle aged Ethnic Groups statistics and numerical data ethnic group Health Surveys Insurance, Health United States Humans California male female legislation and jurisprudence Retrospective Studies adult sex factor Sex Factors medicaid retrospective study Health Services Accessibility health care delivery health survey
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84969963751&doi=10.1007%2fs10903-016-0436-9&partnerID=40&md5=1bddb377c04aeae42418209bc0e5c418
DOI: 10.1007/s10903-016-0436-9
ISSN: 15571912
Original Language: English