Health Policy

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Race, Ethnicity & Healthcare Reform: Achieving Equity in Our Lifetime

This issue brief identifies, analyzes, and compares provisions that explicitly address the health and healthcare needs of racial and ethnic minorities within the two leading Congressional healthcare reform proposals: The Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 (H.R. 3962) passed in the House of Representatives on November 7, 2009; and The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009 (H.R. 3590) introduced in the Senate on November 18, 2009, as a merged version of the Senate Finance Committee’s America’s Health Future Act (S.1796) and Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions’ (HELP) Affordable Health Choices Act (S. 1697). Additionally, this issue brief explores the potential implications of broad healthcare reforms for racial and ethnic minorities. Also discussed is how each bill could decrease disparities and improve minority health, where each falls short in advancing these goals, as well as the transitional challenges and questions for the future should health care reform legislation be enacted.

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