Inequality in health insurance coverage before and after the Affordable Care Act

Has the Expansion of Health Insurance Coverage via the Implementation of the Affordable Care Act Influenced Inequities in Coronary Revascularization in New York City?

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE

In 2014, New York City implemented the Affordable Care Act (ACA) leading to insurance coverage gains intended to reduce inequities in healthcare services use. The paper documents inequalities in coronary revascularization procedures (percutaneous coronary intervention and coronary artery bypass grafting) usage by race/ethnicity, gender, insurance type, and income before and after the implementation of the ACA.

METHODS

We used data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project to identify NYC patients hospitalized with the diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD) and/or congestive heart failure (CHF) in 2011-2013 (pre-ACA) and 2014-2017 (post-ACA). Next, we calculated age-adjusted rates of CAD and/or CHF hospitalization and coronary revascularization. Logistic regression models were used to identify the variables associated with receiving a coronary revascularization in each period.

RESULTS

Age-adjusted rates of CAD and/or CHF hospitalization and coronary revascularization in patients 45-64 years of age and 65 years of age and older declined in the post-ACA period. Disparities by gender, race/ethnicity, insurance type, and income in the use of coronary revascularization persist in the post-ACA period.

CONCLUSIONS

Although this health care reform law led to the narrowing of inequities in the use of coronary revascularization, disparities persist in NYC in the post-ACA period.

Opioid Misuse and Opioid Overdose Mortality Among the Black Population in the United States: An Integrative Review

Opioid misuse is a growing public health concern in the United States (U.S.). This problem continues to claim many lives and has affected the life expectancy of the U.S. population. In the past few years, the Black population has witnessed an increased rate of overdose deaths compared to their white counterparts. This review seeks to characterize recent trends in opioid prescription practices and overdose deaths among the Black population in the U.S. An integrative review was conducted with a literature search from CINHAL, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO databases. The literature search identified 11 articles for the analysis. All studies were quantitative. Six studies focused on overdose mortality and five on opioid prescription practices. The results indicate a rising trend in opioid overdose mortality among Black people due to the availability of synthetic opioids on the illegal drug market. Black people receive fewer opioid prescriptions and experience higher rates of opioid dose reduction compared to Whites. The Black population has experienced an increase in opioid overdose mortality compared to the White population within the last two decades. Opioid overdose deaths among Black people are highly associated with the proliferation of synthetic opioids, and Black men have been more affected than Black women. Black people experience lower rates of opioid prescription during E.R. visits compared to Whites. The issue of low opioid prescribing among Black people needs to be addressed since it affects their health outcomes and is a factor that contributes to the use of illicit synthetic opioids.

Parental Educational Attainment, the Superior Temporal Cortical Surface Area, and Reading Ability among American Children: A Test of Marginalization-Related Diminished Returns

BACKGROUND

Recent studies have shown that parental educational attainment is associated with a larger superior temporal cortical surface area associated with higher reading ability in children. Simultaneously, the marginalization-related diminished returns (MDRs) framework suggests that, due to structural racism and social stratification, returns of parental education are smaller for black and other racial/ethnic minority children compared to their white counterparts.

PURPOSE

This study used a large national sample of 9-10-year-old American children to investigate associations between parental educational attainment, the right and left superior temporal cortical surface area, and reading ability across diverse racial/ethnic groups.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional analysis that included 10,817 9-10-year-old children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Parental educational attainment was treated as a five-level categorical variable. Children's right and left superior temporal cortical surface area and reading ability were continuous variables. Race/ethnicity was the moderator. To adjust for the nested nature of the ABCD data, mixed-effects regression models were used to test the associations between parental education, superior temporal cortical surface area, and reading ability overall and by race/ethnicity.

RESULTS

Overall, high parental educational attainment was associated with greater superior temporal cortical surface area and reading ability in children. In the pooled sample, we found statistically significant interactions between race/ethnicity and parental educational attainment on children's right and left superior temporal cortical surface area, suggesting that high parental educational attainment has a smaller boosting effect on children's superior temporal cortical surface area for black than white children. We also found a significant interaction between race and the left superior temporal surface area on reading ability, indicating weaker associations for Alaskan Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AIAN/NHPI) than white children. We also found interactions between race and parental educational attainment on reading ability, indicating more potent effects for black children than white children.

CONCLUSION

While parental educational attainment may improve children's superior temporal cortical surface area, promoting reading ability, this effect may be unequal across racial/ethnic groups. To minimize the racial/ethnic gap in children's brain development and school achievement, we need to address societal barriers that diminish parental educational attainment's marginal returns for middle-class minority families. Social and public policies need to go beyond equal access and address structural and societal barriers that hinder middle-class families of color and their children. Future research should test how racism, social stratification, segregation, and discrimination, which shape the daily lives of non-white individuals, take a toll on children's brains and academic development.