The Affordable Care Act includes provisions that focus on improving quality of care for racial and ethnic minorities. In New Mexico about 70 percent of children are of color, and almost a third of children live in poverty. Interactive maps are available that detail seven categories of children’s insurance coverage by county. These maps are a useful tool for anyone interested in learning more about the insurance coverage of New Mexico’s children by such categories as race, place, gender and income.
Click for Maps
The development of these maps are part of a study led by Dr. Lisa Cacari Stone, Associate Professor of Health and Social Policy (College of Population Health/RWJF Center for Health Policy at UNM) and supported by the Con Alma Health Foundation in conjunction with a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The goal of the grant-funded project is to ensure that people in low-income communities and communities of color have health equity, which is an equal chance at living healthy lives, as intended in the Affordable Care Act.
Specifically the policy implementation study aims to:
- Research and gather information about the challenges and needs of implementing specific provisions of the ACA focusing on health equity and develop strategies to address those needs;
- Research and gather information on related health-equity issues, such as the African American Infant Mortality Program;
- Examine policy implications and opportunities to strengthen the safety net for those who experience such barriers as financial, cultural or geographic that prevent them from fully benefiting from the opportunities provided through ACA and other health resources; and
- Develop a final report on health equity and the ACA in New Mexico, outlining successes, challenges and recommendations for improvement.
