This brief describes the barriers that people of color face disproportionately in gaining access to necessary health care, components of an adequate health care provider network, and policies to help achieve such networks in private insurance plans. Topics include health disparities; geographic distribution, numbers, and types of health care providers; transportation, language, and culturally-competent care; […]
Service accessibility
Three Out of Four Children with Mental Health Needs in California Do Not Receive Treatment Despite Having Health Care Coverage
More than 300,000 California children ages 4 to 11 have mental health needs, yet only one-fourth of them received mental health care in 2007 and 2009. Health insurance coverage and a usual source of care typically facilitate mental health service use; however, this is not the case for children with mental health needs. This policy […]
The Southeastern Health Equity Report Card
The Southeastern Health Equity Council (SHEC) has released the first Health Equity Report Card for the Southeastern region! Some of the key findings include: In the Southeast, the percentage of racial and ethnic minorities with health insurance is lower than the national average. All Southeastern states scored an “F” in food security and had poor […]
We Ain’t Crazy! Just Coping with a Crazy System: Pathways into the Black Population for Eliminating Mental Health Disparities
“It is unpleasant to admit, but many African Americans do not receive appropriate mental health services, even when they go to places that are suppose to help them. Why is that?” It’s a question Dr. V. Diane Woods has been asking for more than a decade. At the national Black Mental Health Workers Conference in […]
Race/Ethnicity and Geographic Access to Medicaid Substance Use Disorder Treatment Facilities in the United States
Compared to elsewhere in the country, there are far fewer outpatient facilities in the U.S. South and Midwest that are able to help people on Medicaid who are battling alcohol or drug abuse, a new study finds. Overall, about 60 percent of U.S. counties have at least one of these facilities, the researchers said. People living […]
Health and Access to Care and Coverage for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Individuals in the U.S.
This issue brief provides an overview of what is known about Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) health status, coverage, and access in the United States, and reviews the implications of the Affordable Care Act, the overturning of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and other recent policy developments for LGBT individuals and their families […]