Six-of-10 uninsured African-Americans helped by government

BETHESDA, Md., Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Six-of-10 uninsured African-Americans may be eligible for subsidized health insurance, Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program, officials say.

A report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services calculated the uninsured rates by state and provided several examples of what premiums might look like for African-Americans living in major metropolitan areas.

One-fifth of uninsured African-Americans and permanent residents live the greater Atlanta, New York, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and Detroit metropolitan areas, the report said.

A 27-year-old individual in Atlanta with an income of $25,000 can pay as little as $105 a month for a bronze plan after applying the tax credit, while a family of four with an income of $50,000 could pay $148 a month for a bronze plan after applying the tax credit, the report said.

"The healthcare law is working to address long-standing disparities in healthcare coverage and improve the health of the African-American community," Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of HHS, said in a statement. "Through the health insurance marketplace, 6.8 million uninsured African-Americans have new options for affordable health coverage that covers a range of benefits, including important preventive services with no out-of-pocket costs."

Nationwide, about 2 million uninsured African-Americans may be eligible for coverage through Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program.

In addition, states have new opportunities to expand Medicaid coverage to include Americans with family incomes at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty level -- generally $31,322 for a family of four in 2013. This expansion includes adults without dependent children living at home, who have not previously been eligible for Medicaid in most states, Sebelius said.

An additional 2.2 million eligible uninsured African-American adults with family incomes below 100 percent of the federal poverty level live in states that are not expanding Medicaid. The number of uninsured African-Americans who may be eligible for access to health coverage at a lower cost would increase from 60 percent to 95 percent if all states adopted the Medicaid expansion, Sebelius said.