How the Affordable Care Act quietly transformed health care access for Latinos in the U.S.
The numbers and stories behind the Affordable Care Act's impact on Latino health
When I moved to the U.S., one of the first things I learned was that here, health care is expensive, confusing, and often feels out of reach. Especially for immigrants. Especially for Latinos.
I’m not saying healthcare in Colombia is perfect, but I want to give you some perspective. My mom is retired and lives in Colombia, where everyone must pay and be part of the EPS (Entidad Promotora de Salud) system, which is the foundation of their universal healthcare. She also pays for a private plan to supplement it. In 2021, she had a heart attack and was hospitalized in a private clinic for a full week. Do you know how much we paid out of pocket? Zero.
In the U.S., many in our community have gone years without insurance, avoided doctor visits, or skipped filling prescriptions because of cost. Not because they wanted to but because they had no other choice.
That’s why what happened fifteen years ago today matters so much.
On March 21, 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) passed the House of Representatives. And even though politicians have been debating it ever since, the reality is that this landmark legislation has quietly transformed millions of Latino lives.
It didn’t fix everything. But it saved lives.
The numbers don’t lie
Since the ACA passed, 15.6 million more Latinos have gained health insurance. That’s not just a statistic. That’s 15.6 million more people who can see a doctor, fill a prescription, or take their child to urgent care without panicking about the bill.
According to a June 2024 report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:
The uninsured rate for Latinos dropped from 32.7 percent in 2010 to 18 percent in 2022.
Latino enrollment in ACA Marketplace coverage more than doubled from 2020 to 2023, reaching 3.4 million people.
Access to care improved significantly. The percentage of Latinos without a usual source of care fell from 24 percent to 14 percent.
More Latinos got preventive care, fewer delayed filling prescriptions due to cost, and more families had peace of mind knowing they had coverage.
But this didn’t happen by magic. It happened because we organized, voted, and fought for it. And because people in power chose to invest in outreach, provide subsidies, and protect programs like Medicaid and CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program), which helps cover health care for children in working families who don’t qualify for Medicaid.
The fight isn’t over
One of the most important things the Affordable Care Act did was give states the option to expand Medicaid. That expansion allowed millions of low-income adults, including many in the Latino community, to finally qualify for health insurance. It’s one of the biggest reasons why the uninsured rate among Latinos dropped so dramatically after the ACA passed.
But that progress is still at risk.
The Trump administration and Republican-led Congress have made it clear that they want to undo this progress. Their proposed plans would slash Medicaid by at least $880 billion over the next decade, threatening access to care for more than 70 million Americans. That includes nearly 1 in 3 Latinos, who rely on Medicaid for health coverage.
Let’s be real. These cuts wouldn’t just trim budgets. They would end insurance coverage for millions, raise costs, and allow insurance companies to deny coverage for preexisting conditions by repealing the ACA.
Here’s how that would hit our community:
Over 20 million Latinos currently rely on Medicaid
More than half of all Latino children are covered by Medicaid
Nearly 3 in 10 Latino seniors depend on it for long-term care
5 million Latino workers without college degrees would be hit especially hard
Repealing the ACA would jeopardize coverage for 15 million Latinos, many of whom rely on public programs
All of this is to give massive tax breaks to billionaires and corporations.
And it’s not just about healthcare
These proposed Medicaid cuts would also have a broader economic impact.
The bottom 40 percent of income earners would actually lose more in Medicaid benefits than they would gain from the tax cuts. In other words, working families would end up worse off.
States would be forced to either cover the gap, make cuts to existing coverage, or reduce funding for other essential services. And since so many Latinos live in states that haven’t expanded Medicaid, we’re especially vulnerable.
These cuts would undo years of progress and make existing health disparities even worse.
Remember, this is to give billionaires and big corporations another tax break.
So what can we do?
We can speak up. We can protect what we’ve fought for. And we can make sure every person in our families and communities knows what’s at stake.
We need to vote for people who have real plans to protect our health care, not cut it just to hand out more tax breaks to the ultra-rich.
Health care shouldn’t depend on your income, immigration status, or zip code; it should be a human right.
And today, on the 15th anniversary of the ACA passing the House, I just want to say this law has saved lives. Let’s not forget that.
Is your Substack available in Spanish. I would really like to share with Spanish speaking friends. I listen to Substack posts via the AI option due to visual impairment issues and it would be incredibly useful for folks with literacy problems especially if it was an option en español.
If you like your healthcare you can keep your healthcare https://torrancestephensphd.substack.com/p/the-affordable-care-act-obamacare