Date of Conferral

2016

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Health Services

Advisor

John W. Oswald

Abstract

The Patient Protection and Affordability Act of 2010 (PPACA) addressed the access to healthcare in the United States. One of the problems of this healthcare access was rooted in disproportionally lower access among minority populations. The purpose of this quantitative study, guided by the consumer behavior theory, was to examine the association between race/ethnicity and enrollment within the Covered California-?¢ (CoveredCA) Insurance Exchange. A cross-sectional study design was used to investigate the association between race/ethnicity and the use of Covered CA health benefit exchange. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between enrollment and race/ethnicity, having adjusted for covariates of age, gender, and literacy. The results revealed that, while all other race/ethnicity groups were less likely to purchase Bronze level versus Silver and above coverage compared to the Hispanic race/ethnicity, Asians (OR =1.16, 95% CI: 1.11, 1.20) and Whites (OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.14) were more likely to purchase Bronze level versus Silver and above coverage compared to the Hispanic group. Chi-square test results indicated a statistically significant difference in the proportion of individuals selecting the Bronze level coverage compared to the Silver and above among the various race/ethnicity groups ï?£2 (13, N= 763,531), 1922.083, p < 0.0001. The Hispanic race/ethnicity was more likely to enroll in the Bronze versus Silver and above compared to other race/ethnicities. The results of this study may contribute to positive social change by informing policy that besides income and age, race/ethnicity is an important determinant of the likelihood of enrollment in the Covered CA health exchange.

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