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55 Howard L.J. 855 (2011-2012)
Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act: Civil Rights, Health Reform, Race, and Equity

handle is hein.journals/howlj55 and id is 865 raw text is: Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act: Civil Rights, Health Reform, Race, and Equity SIDNEY D. WATSON* INTRODUCTION ............................................. 855 I. TITLE VI: THE LIMITS OF PRE-ACA CIVIL RIGHTS REMEDIES IN THE HEALTH CARE A R E N A ................................................ 860 II. SECTION 1557: THE ACA'S ANTI- DISCRIMINATION PROVISION ..................... 870 III. SECTION 1557 AND HEALTH REFORM IMPLEMENTATION .................................. 881 CONCLU SION ................................................ 884 INTRODUCTION The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA or Af- fordable Care Act) provisions expanding access to affordable health insurance offer a critical tool to improve minority access to health in- surance and reduce inequities both in the health care system and among communities. Lack of health insurance is the biggest barrier to receiving timely and affordable health care services,1 and people of color are more likely than white Americans to be uninsured.2 Al- though people of color make up just thirty-five percent of the U.S. * Professor of Law, Center for Health Law Studies, Saint Louis University School of Law. Special thanks to Jamille Fields, Saint Louis University JDIMPH-Policy 2013, who helped con- ceive, craft, research, and edit this Article. Thanks also to Evangeline Lanlangas, Saint Louis University JD/MPH-Policy 2013, for her special expertise in matters relating to the private insur- ance, as well as invaluable research assistance generally. 1. See COMM. ON HEALTH INS. STATUS & ITS CONSEQUENCES, BD. ON HEALTH CARE SERVS., INST. OF MED., AMERICA'S UNINSURED CRISIS: CONSEQUENCES FOR HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE XI (2006) (stating that from 2001 to 2004 that the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued six reports that concluded: being uninsured was hazardous to people's health). 2. COMM. ON UNDERSTANDING & ELIMINATING RACIAL & ETHNIC DISPARITIES IN HEALTH CARE, INST. OF MED., UNEQUAL TREATMENT: CONFRONTING RACIAL AND ETHNIC 2012 Vol. 55 No. 3