The May 2024 issue of the American Journal of Health Economics collects articles on the topic of health equity. The edition was inspired in part by the COVID-19 pandemic, writes guest editor Mónica García-Pérez, and the ways in which that “health crisis exposed the sources of disparities among different US populations that affect access to health care, quality of care, and final health outcomes.”
Consisting of five papers, the issue devotes particular attention to the topics of “race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability topics in health economics.”
“ Access to Gender-Affirming Care and Transgender Mental Health: Evidence from Medicaid Coverage ” discovers a positive correlation between gender-affirmation coverage and the mental health of low-income transgender people.
“ Gender Identity, Race, and Ethnicity-Based Discrimination in Access to Mental Health Care: Evidence from an Audit Correspondence Field Experiment ” identifies a pattern of discrimination by mental health providers against patients with Black or Latino-sounding names.
“ Same-Sex Marriage and Employer Choices about Domestic Partner Benefits ” finds that the expansion of same-sex marriage has led, conversely, to a reduction in same-sex domestic partner benefits offered through private employers.
“ Administrative Burdens and Child Medicaid and CHIP Enrollments ” describes how increased administrative burdens like eligibility checks and automatic disenrollment lead to diminished insurance access for the children of Hispanic, immigrant, and non-citizen parents.
Finally, “ Heterogeneous Effects of the Affordable Care Act on Emergency Department Visits and Payer Composition among Older Adults by Race and Ethnicity ” reports the effect of Affordable Care Act expansion on Black and Hispanic patients, concluding that states with no expansion saw a greater number of emergency room visits.
The special edition, notes García-Pérez, fills several gaps in health equity scholarship. Additionally, the issue aligns itself with the commitment of the health equity discipline to “addressing the upstream influences of detrimental socioeconomic conditions,” and to giving all people “a fair opportunity to reach their health potential.”
American Journal of Health Economics