Medicaid, the state and federally funded health insurance program for lowincome
people, has historically played a critical role for people of color,
providing coverage for millions of blacks and Latinos of all ages. While
Medicaid covers many more white people, because blacks and Latinos tend
to have lower incomes than whites,3 they are more than twice as likely to
rely on Medicaid for health coverage. In both black and Latino communities,
a little more than one in four people relies on Medicaid for their health care;
in contrast, Medicaid covers fewer than one in eight whites.4 Medicaid helps
roughly half of all black and Latino children get a healthy start in life. And it
helps black and Latino seniors and people with disabilities who need long-term
care.