The Affordable Care Act includes many requirements that advance health equity in the commercial coverage market and has contributed to significant progress in narrowing racial and ethnic health disparities. While health insurers alone cannot close disparities, insurance stakeholders play a key role and have committed to doing more to address systemic racism. For instance, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and the American Academy of Actuaries created new committees on health equity while AHIP and Blue Cross Blue Shield Association have pledged to reduce disparities. Yet, to date, insurers have focused primarily on philanthropy and social needs over systemic policies that better serve people of color.

In a new post for the Commonwealth Fund’s To the Point blog, Katie Keith highlights several Affordable Care Act requirements that have not been fully utilized by insurers — resulting in gaps that exacerbate disparities. The post identifies examples where insurers and regulators could do more to turn commitment on health equity and racial justice into action. You can read the full blog post here.