Insurance Coverage, Medical Home Access Are Keys to Reducing Health Disparities

A new analysis from The Commonwealth Fund shows that having both health insurance and a medical home—an accessible primary care practice that knows its patients and helps to coordinate their care—dramatically reduces disparities in health and health care.

The analysis, which was based on the Fund's Biennial Health Insurance Survey, confirms that insurance coverage is critical to accessing quality health care. But when insured low-income adults also have a medical home, the positive effects are even greater: with both insurance and a medical home, people with low incomes are nearly as likely as those with higher incomes to receive recommended preventive services and to rate their quality of care as excellent or very good.

The findings, say the authors, affirm the importance of the Affordable Care Act's provisions to expand access to health coverage and promote the spread of health care system improvements, including medical homes. Visit commonwealthfund.org to learn more.