Intra-Ethnic Coverage Disparities among Latinos and the Effects of Health Reform.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the patterns of insurance coverage among nine Latino subgroups and assess heterogeneous effects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) among these groups.

DATA SOURCES

American Community Survey (2010-2014).

STUDY DESIGN

We examined pre-ACA disparities in coverage using linear probability models. Then, we used interrupted time series and triple-difference models to evaluate coverage changes associated with the ACA and Medicaid expansion, respectively.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

Pre-ACA coverage disparities between Latino subgroups were nearly 30 percentage points-larger than the gap between whites and Latinos as a whole. Coverage changes associated with the ACA and Medicaid expansion differed significantly between subgroups, with the largest gains among South Americans, Central Americans, and Mexicans.

CONCLUSIONS

Latino subgroups show marked heterogeneity in baseline coverage rates and responses to the ACA.