The Supreme Court’s decision upholding President Barack Obama’s healthcare law (#Obamacare) is a victory for those who aggressively seek to reduce healthcare disparities primarily affecting Blacks and Latinos. By requiring health insurance for everyone, the law guarantees improvements in health coveragefor people from these racial and ethnic groups, who disproportionately suffer from diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.
Consider these statistics:
- Blacks, Latinos and other non-whites comprise 50 percent of the uninsured people in the United States today
- Nearly one-third of Latinos (30.7) now are uninsured, according to the 2010 U.S. census, compared with 20.8 percent of Blacks, 18.1 percent of Asians and 11.7 percent of whites
- The law is expected to improve healthcare for 47 million Latinos and 41 million Blacks
- A study by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies quantified the direct medical costs associated with health inequities: nearly $300 billion between 2003 and 2006
What’s the Public’s Reaction
