A team of researchers with the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center found that even with expanded access to Medi-Cal health coverage, Latino smokers in California continue to get less help than non-Latino white people quitting smoking.
Results from a cross-sectional study of 1,861 participants, published in JAMA Network Open, highlighted the inequity.
The Affordable Care Act increased access to Medicaid, which is called Medi-Cal in California.
By the fall of 2014, 2.8 million more people in the state gained access to Medi-Cal. Of these, 41% were newly insured non-elderly Latinos. The percentage of smokers covered by Medi-Cal increased substantially, from 19.3% before the ACA to 41.5% afterward.
The research shows that Latino smokers on Medi-Cal do not receive the same amount of tobacco cessation advice and assistance that non-Latino white smokers on Medi-Cal receive when they are seen by health professionals.
The lead author of the study, Cindy Valencia, said using strategies to engage tobacco users outside of a clinical encounter, such as proactive outreach and community-based engagement, may help address this disparity.
The study was conducted as part of Valencia’s PhD dissertation in Public Health Sciences. She is the first graduate of the program and a Latina.
