Did the Affordable Care Act's Dependent Coverage Expansion Affect Race/Ethnic Disparities in Health Insurance Coverage?
OBJECTIVE
To test the impact of the dependent coverage expansion (DCE) on insurance disparities across race/ethnic groups.


DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING
Survey data from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).


STUDY DESIGN
Triple-difference (DDD) models were applied to repeated cross-sectional surveys of the U.S. adult population.


DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS
Data from 6 years (2008-2013) of the NSDUH were combined.


PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
Following the DCE, the relative odds of insurance increased 1.5 times (95 percent CI 1.1, 1.9) among whites compared to blacks and 1.4 times (95 percent CI 1.1, 1.8) among whites compared to Hispanics.


CONCLUSIONS
Health reform efforts, such as the DCE, can have negative effects on race/ethnic disparities, despite positive impacts in the general population.
['Breslau|Joshua|J|0000-0002-1194-4643', 'Han|Bing|B|', 'Stein|Bradley D|BD|', 'Burns|Rachel M|RM|', 'Yu|Hao|H|']
D000328:Adult D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D005006:Ethnicity D005260:Female D054625:Healthcare Disparities D006801:Humans D019458:Insurance Coverage D007348:Insurance, Health D008297:Male D058991:Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act D044469:Racial Groups D012959:Socioeconomic Factors D014481:United States D055815:Young Adult
Health insurance coverage health disparities young adults