Scholar Says Minority Health Has Much to Gain with Affordable Care Act: The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act means that many people of color will see expanded access to healthcare, including those in underserved urban communities gaining increased prevention care. In a column for TheGrio.com, Dr. Brian D. Smedley, vice president at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, notes that under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) minorities, who are more likely to live in segregated and impoverished conditions, can expect to get help with services that reduce health risks.Smedley writes that by “expanding access to private insurance through state health exchanges, improving access for more people who live in poverty through Medicaid expansions, and other reforms, more than 32 million uninsured Americans will gain coverage. All of these provisions would improve the current state of health care for people of color, who are disproportionately un- and under-insured and who face greater barriers than Whites to receiving high-quality care, even when insured.”
