Health care gaps persist for Black and Hispanic Pennsylvanians
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Black and Hispanic Pennsylvanians still face the largest gaps in health care access and quality, per a new Commonwealth Fund report.
The big picture: No state has eliminated health disparities across racial and ethnic groups, and researchers warn that recent federal policy shifts will likely widen them.
- Nationally, rates of people skipping needed care because of cost are rising after hitting record lows in 2021 and 2022, per the report.
Zoom in: In Pennsylvania, Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) and white residents had the best overall health care outcomes, access and quality — ranking in the 86th and 80th percentiles, respectively. These outcomes are often linked to higher income levels.
- Hispanic and Black residents experienced the worst overall health outcomes, access and quality, scoring in the 28th and 43rd percentiles, respectively.
By the numbers: Hispanic adults (18%) are significantly more likely to be uninsured than other groups, all between 6 and 9%. They're also most likely to go without care due to cost (24%).
- Black Pennsylvanians die of avoidable causes much more frequently (314 per 100,000) than their white (178), Hispanic (159) and AANHPI (76) counterparts.
- Black residents had the highest rates of obesity, smoking, and breast and colorectal cancer death rates. The infant mortality rate for Black Pennsylvanians is 9.8 per 1,000 live births, more than double the rate of white Pennsylvanians (4.5).
Between the lines: Hispanic residents had lower mortality rates from preventable causes than white Pennsylvanians despite less access to care and higher rates of smoking and obesity.
- Axios Arkansas reports that researchers call this the "Hispanic paradox." However, that trend could be fading, per the American Heart Association.
Zoom out: The report found that Pennsylvania's health systems still outperformed other states on average across all racial and ethnic groups.
How it works: The Commonwealth Fund analyzed 24 performance indicators across three domains — health outcomes, health care access and quality and use of services — using federal data from 2022 to 2024.
- Researchers calculated standardized scores for five racial and ethnic groups and ranked each group's experience on a 1-to-100 percentile scale relative to all groups nationally.
- The data predates 2025–2026 federal policy shifts in Medicaid and ACA coverage.
The bottom line: The report finds that Medicaid eligibility, lower medical debt and strong family support improve health outcomes. Researchers urge Congress to expand insurance access, strengthen primary care and protect access to preventive services.
- Researchers hope the findings encourage local leaders to bolster support for affordable housing and food security programs, too.