This April marks the eighth annual Medicaid Awareness Month. Medicaid is the largest health insurance program in the country, providing health care for over 70 million Americans of all races. It is a critical source of health care and financial security, especially for Black, Latino, and Indigenous families in rural and urban America who experience poverty at a higher rate than white Americans and remain less likely to have access to quality care – an important driver of health. Generations of structural racism across all determinants of health have resulted in lower rates of health coverage and worse health outcomes amongst people of color. As a result, these groups face higher rates of many chronic conditions that make access to affordable health coverage through Medicaid even more essential.
Despite its importance to millions of Americans, Trump and Republicans in Congress are determined to gut Medicaid in order to give billionaires and big corporations another tax cut, even if it means dismantling the health care they rely on. Congressional Republicans are pressing forward with their budget which will slash $880 billion from Medicaid, putting the health care of tens of millions of Americans at risk. Their cruel agenda will hit communities of color the hardest, stripping away care and hiking costs for working families at a time when no one can afford it. Recent polling found there is broad opposition across party lines to any cuts to Medicaid, with 67 percent saying Congress should increase spending on Medicaid or keep it about the same.
Additionally, for people of color, loss of health coverage due to Medicaid cuts will be especially compounded by Republicans raising premiums and health care costs for 24 million Americans by allowing enhanced premium tax credits for people who buy coverage on their own to expire. Because of enhanced tax credits, Blacks and Latinos experienced the greatest reductions in the percent of uninsured people, and those gains stand to be reversed if Republicans allow the tax credits to expire.
During Medicaid Awareness Month, Protect Our Care is continuing its “Hands Off Medicaid” campaign with theme weeks to underscore the importance of Medicaid across the country. Alongside partners, lawmakers, and other advocates, Protect Our Care is working to defend Medicaid from the Republican-led plan to slash funding to pay for another round of tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations.
By The Numbers
- 30 Percent Of Medicaid Enrollees Are Hispanic/Latino. Hispanic/Latino people make up 19.5 percent of the U.S. population, but nearly 30 percent of Medicaid enrollees.
- 1 In 5 Medicaid Enrollees Are Black. As of 2024, Black Americans make up 13.7 percent of the U.S. population, but about 20 percent of Medicaid enrollees.
- 2 in 5 Native American And American Indian People Are Enrolled In Medicaid. 4.4 million people identified as Native American and American Indian as of 2024. In 2022, 43 percent of the Native American and American Indian population had health coverage through Medicaid.
- 18 Percent Of Asian Americans Are Enrolled In Medicaid. Roughly 6.4 percent of the American population identify as Asian American equating to about 21 million people.
- 35 Percent Of Native Hawaiian And Other Pacific Islanders (NHOPI) Are Covered By Medicaid. That’s about 357,116 out of 1,020,332 NHOPI people.
- More Than 1.36 Million People Could Gain Coverage If Holdout States Accepted Expansion. If Republicans did the right thing and expanded Medicaid in the remaining holdout states, more than 1.36 million uninsured adults could gain coverage; people of color make up 60 percent of this group, or roughly 780,000 people.
Medicaid Reduces Disparities In Coverage. Increasing Medicaid access is the single most important action available to expand coverage and address access to quality care as a driver of health. This together with additional actions to address other social and structural determinants of health can reduce racial/ethnic disparities in the American health care system. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) led to historic reductions in racial/ethnic disparities in access to health care, but gaps in insurance coverage narrowed the most in states that adopted Medicaid expansion.
Medicaid Expansion Is Essential For Addressing Health Disparities. Research confirms that Medicaid expansion saves lives and drastically reduces racial/ethnic health coverage disparities. In the remaining 10 holdout states who haven’t expanded Medicaid, 6 in 10 people in the coverage gap are people of color. States that expanded their Medicaid programs saw a 51 percent reduction in the gap between uninsured white and Black adults after expansion, and a 45 percent reduction between white and Hispanic/Latino adults.
Medicaid Is Essential For Children of Color. Children of color disproportionately rely on Medicaid coverage, making robust Medicaid access a critical racial/ethnic justice issue for American children. Children of color make up nearly 52 percent of all American children, but nearly 67 percent of the children on Medicaid. This coverage not only provides health coverage in the immediate term, but also provides significant long-term benefits, such as being less likely to be hospitalized and more likely to graduate high school and college.
Medicaid Coverage For Black Mothers Is Under Attack. The United States has the highest rate of maternal deaths of any high-income country, and Black mothers face a maternal mortality rate more than twice the rates of other races and ethnicities. In recent years, public health officials and advocates have been sounding the alarm on the need to address the U.S.’s maternal health crisis. Medicaid provides care to nearly two-thirds of Black moms and thanks to Democrats in Congress, states were given the option to extend coverage to new mothers for one year postpartum – 49 states, both red and blue, took advantage of it. With one in three pregnancy-related deaths occurring between six weeks and one year after birth, this extension is a vital policy in fighting the unacceptably high maternal mortality rate in the United States — but coverage could be at risk with GOP cuts to Medicaid. As part of their extremist and regressive crusade to erase all equity efforts, Republicans are targeting public health programs that collect data and address the unique challenges faced by Black moms. Republicans must be held accountable for dismantling life-saving health programs and coverage for new moms in order to hand out tax breaks to the wealthy.
Medicaid Reduces Disparities In Rural Access To Care. 24 percent of rural Americans identify as a person of color. Rural Americans of color face a greater health disparity than their white counterparts due to barriers to health care access, reporting not having primary care providers, forgoing care due to cost, and having fair to poor health status. States that have expanded Medicaid have improved rural hospital financial performance and lower likelihood of hospital closures. When Arkansas and Kentucky accepted Medicaid expansion, adults in those states became more likely to have a personal doctor, obtain care for ongoing conditions, and have a yearly medical check up.
LGBTQI+ People of Color Have Seen Reduced Health Disparities. Due to both systemic factors as well as complex familial dynamics, the LGBTQI+ community is much more at risk of poverty and uninsurance than cisgender heterosexual Americans. Because of this, Medicaid has become a lifeline for the LGBTQI+ community, especially people of color. Around 46 percent of Black LGBTQI+ Americans and 43 percent of Latino LGTBQI+ Americans with incomes below 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Line qualify for Medicaid. As well, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) LGBTQI+ Americans are over two times as likely to have Medicaid as their primary insurance compared to cisgender heterosexual AAPI individuals.
Medicaid Improves Financial Security For Families. The racial/ethnic wealth gap in America is staggering. According to data from the US Census Bureau, in 2023, the annual median household income for white Americans was nearly $20,000 higher than for Hispanic/Latino households and nearly $30,000 higher compared to Black households. As a result, policies to boost financial well-being undoubtedly help people of color. After enrolling in Medicaid, a 2018 study found that low-income adults had $1,140 less in unpaid debt in states that expanded Medicaid. Over the past decade, research has shown the gap in medical debt between Medicaid expansion and holdout states has grown approximately 30 percent. In 2020, Americans living in holdout states carried an average of $375 more in medical debt than their counterparts in expansion states.
Medicaid Reduces Poverty And Inequity. Poverty can produce negative long-term consequences for children and adults alike. Medicaid has long been considered one of the most effective anti-poverty programs in the nation, and its expansion has significantly improved health outcomes for people of color. In a nation where Americans are one medical bill away from being pushed into poverty, Medicaid serves as a lifeline not only for health care, but for economic stability. A January 2021 study from Health Affairs found that the ACA helped reduce income inequality across the board, but much more dramatically in Medicaid expansion states.
Medicaid Helps People With Behavioral Health Conditions. States that have expanded Medicaid have added behavioral health benefits, including mental health and substance use disorder care, that particularly benefit beneficiaries of color who have disproportionately been affected by these conditions. 28 percent of Black people and 27 percent of Latinos suffer from a mental health or substance use disorder. Medicaid is the single-largest payer for mental health services in America. 40 percent of adults on Medicaid are living with a serious mental health or substance use disorder.
Medicaid Is An Important Safety Net To Ensure People Stay Covered. Medicaid plays a key role to ensure people who lose private coverage continue to get the care they need. Right now, Republicans are working to take away premium tax credits from millions of Americans, which will raise costs for 24 million Americans who buy coverage on their own. Because of enhanced tax credits, Blacks and Latinos experienced the greatest reductions in the percent of uninsured people. If Medicaid funding is cut, many of these families will have nowhere to turn for affordable coverage.
