Among the more than 150 million Americans who receive health coverage through their employer, there are large health disparities across race, ethnicity and income, according to a study published July 25 by Morgan Health.
The study analyzed data from four public sources that collectively included information about more than 30,000 people ages 25-64 with employer-sponsored health insurance. The data is from before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study was conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago and was commissioned by Morgan Health, the healthcare arm of JPMorgan Chase.
Eight key takeaways:
Chronic disease varied across racial and ethnic groups:
- Among Black enrollees, 60.4 percent had high blood pressure compared to 40.7 percent of Asian enrollees, 44.2 percent of Hispanic enrollees and 46 percent of white enrollees.
- Among Asian enrollees, 14.1 percent had diabetes compared to 13.4 percent of Black enrollees, 13.3 percent of Hispanic enrollees and 8.8 percent of white enrollees.
Behavioral and substance use issues/outcomes varied across sexual orientation:
- Among lesbian, gay or bisexual enrollees, 23.4 percent reported serious psychological distress compared to 8.8 percent of straight enrollees.
- Among lesbian, gay or bisexual enrollees, 39.4 percent reported heavy alcohol use compared to 29.9 percent of straight enrollees.
- Among lesbian, gay or bisexual enrollees, 44.5 percent reported illicit drug use compared to 17.6 percent of straight enrollees.
Maternal health varied by race:
- Among enrollees with a low-risk pregnancy delivered by cesarean section, 20.1 percent, 17.7 percent and 17 percent were among Black, Asian and Hispanic enrollees, respectively, compared to 13.6 percent of white enrollees.
Financial issues varied by income:
- Among enrollees with an annual income of $50,000 or less, 21.5 struggled to pay medical bills compared to 11.9 percent of enrollees across all incomes.
- Enrollees in the lowest income bracket were 7.1 percent more likely than enrollees in the highest income bracket to visit an emergency room.