Hall and Smedley in USA Today: Provide Data, Expand Medicaid to Close Racial Health Divide

On the opinion pages of USA Today, LeeAnn Hall, executive director of the Alliance for a Just Society, and Dr. Brian Smedley, with the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, call on on HHS to release full data on who is enrolling – and who is being missed. They also call on states where lawmakers have turned their backs on their poorest families, to accept federal fund for expanding Medicaid.

Little girl Medicaid CropThe health disparities associated with race, ethnicity, culture and language in America are vast. Minorities and the poor suffer more, and die sooner, than the general population.

The ACA is an unprecedented opportunity to shrink the racial gap in health coverage and end inhumane disparities. How do we know who is being reached if Health and Human Services isn’t providing enrollment data by race and ethnicity?

Data or no data, these disparities demand action. If every state expands Medicaid, it could cut the uninsured rate for people of color in half. Instead, lawmakers in 19 states have rejected the funds, and six states are still debating.

Read the full article in USA Today here.