Gabriel R. Sanchez, Ph.D., Edward D. Vargas, Ph.D. MPH, Jordin C. Tafoya, MA
With less than a week from election day, the stark differences in policy priorities and approaches between Democrats and Republicans are becoming crystal clear from voters. Nowhere is this more evident than in health care policy. Just this week, GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that the Republican party plans to enact Trump’s campaign pledge to end the Affordable Care Act (ACA). If this were to happen, it would put a halt to the largest gains in health coverage since possibly the signing of The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 which developed Federally Qualified Health Centers (the Hispanic category did not exist at this time).
We draw from our extensive experience conducting research on the impact of the ACA on the Latino community to provide a brief summary of the severe consequences the killing of the ACA would have for Latinos across the country.
Health Coverage has Expanded for Latinos Through the ACA
Latinos were most likely to be uninsured when the ACA was enacted in 2010, and continue to face challenges in access to health insurance and healthcare. However, Latinos have benefited tremendously from the passage of the ACA. In fact, research has found that Latinos have experienced greater increases in health coverage pre-/post-ACA implementation than any other racial group (Buchmueller et. al., 2016; Sommers et. al., 2015).
According to the HHS, estimates, nearly 10 million Latinos gained access to insurance between 2010-2015, as the uninsured rate reduced from 33 percent in 2010 to 21 percent in 2015. Latinos access to health insurance has continued to improve, with another 6 million Latinos acquiring health insurance between 2015 and 2022.
One important stipulation of the ACA critical to Latinos is that it required health plans to offer dependent coverage up until the age of 26. Insurance coverage among individuals aged 19 to 25 expanded significantly as a result of this policy intervention. Further, since income requirements for children under the ACA were generally higher than that of adults, there was an increase in child coverage (Heberlein et. al., 2012). This has been huge for Latinos, who are significantly younger than White Americans, with just over 2 million young Latino adults between 18-25 using the ACA to obtain health insurance.
Latinos Continue to Support the ACA, Health Care Costs Remain a High Priority
Speaker Johnson’s announcement is not in step with public opinion, as the Affordable Care Act remains highly popular among Americans. According to a national survey from KFF, 50% of Americans want the next president and Congress to expand what the ACA does, with another 16% wanting to keep it as is. Conversely, In contrast, only 14% prefer scaling back the law and 18% repealing it entirely. With 65% of the public wanting to either expand or keep the law as it is, dismantling the ACA would not be responsive to the expressed interests of the public.
The Latino community has consistently expressed higher support for the ACA relative to all Americans throughout the law’s history. Latino support for the ACA has continued through several attempts by Republicans to dismantle the law. For example, The Kellogg Foundation tracking poll (April 2024) finds that 71% of Latinos relative to 55% of non-Hispanic whites have favorable opinions of the ACA.
Not only is the ACA popular among Latinos, but the potential repeal of the ACA would come at a time when health care is a policy priority for Latinos. A recent UnidosUS poll of Latinos identified health care to be third among policy priorities for Latino registered voters, behind only the rising cost of living and jobs/the economy.
While expanding the tools available to the ACA are important for everyone in the United States, ensuring that the historic policy is not shut down is vital to the health and well-being of the Latino community. This is not the time to take a step backward by dismantling the ACA. Rather, we should look for paths to expand access to a wider segment of the Latino community through the ACA.
About the Authors
Gabriel R. Sanchez, PhD is vice president of research at BSP Research, and a professor of political science and the Founding Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Endowed Chair in Health Policy at the University of New Mexico. Sanchez is also a senior fellow in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution.
Edward D. Vargas, PhD MPH is an Associate Professor at the School of Transborder Studies at Arizona State University and a Nonresident Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution.
Jordin Tafoya, MA is a a PhD candidate at Arizona State University, a Graduate Emerging Scholar at the Center for Latina/os and American Politics Research, and a Research Analyst at BSP Research.