Michael Campbell, the Visiting Reuschlein Clinical Professor at Villanova University School of Law, and former Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Health Law Project, has recently published a paper titled "Did I Do That? An Argument for Requiring Pennsylvania to Evaluate the Racial Impact of Medicaid Policy Decisions Prior to Implementation," in the Temple Law Review. Professor Campbell looks at the Medicaid program in Pennsylvania to examine how state funding decisions can have a disproportionately harmful impact on African Americans and Hispanics, while other policies seem to disproportionately benefit white populations.

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This summer, the Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of Massachusetts Foundation produced a report about the impact of health reform in Massachusetts since its implementation in 2006. One of the findings was boldly announced in the headline of Bureau of National Affairs article, Massachusetts Health Law Has Erased Racial Disparity in Coverage, Report Says. This is relevant for the rest of us because federal health care reform hopes to expand health coverage based in large part on the Massachusetts model of requiring everyone to purchase insurance through a centralized insurance exchange. We also know that lack of insurance coverage is a barrier to health care access and contributes to worse health outcomes for many racial minorities, which is why universal coverage has been an important goal for many civil rights and health advocates.

While celebrating this good news, however, we should not overlook the bad: despite equality in coverage in Massachusetts, racial and ethnic disparities in access persist. This is not a new or shocking finding - countless studies have documented disparities in access and health outcomes in the U.S., even after controlling for insurance coverage. Here are just a few recent examples:

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