There's a persistent gap in healthcare performance among Black, Hispanic, Asian-American and Native American patients in Florida and their white counterparts.
That's according to the 2026 Health Disparities Report published by the Commonwealth Fund on April 29, which evaluates how healthcare systems are working for racial and ethnic groups across the country. It uses the latest available comparable data from 2022 to 2024.
The study tracks three health system indicators — access to care, quality of available health services and health outcomes — across five racial and ethnic groups to identify systemic inequities within and across states.
"Even when income, insurance coverage and access to care are equal, people of different races and ethnicities are still not receiving the same care," Commonwealth Fund president Dr. Joseph Betancourt said during a webinar presenting the report's findings.
Betancourt, a primary care physician, said researchers anticipate many existing health disparities to widen as a result of major federal funding cuts to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act marketplaces, as well as healthcare eligibility changes for immigrants and asylum seekers.
ALSO READ: Medicaid work requirements pass in Florida Senate
The impact of those changes won't begin appearing in the data until at least 2027, Commonwealth Fund senior researcher David Radley said.
In that way, he said this report serves as a baseline for how healthcare systems are working for racial and ethnic groups.
In Florida, the healthcare system shows clear disparities, with Black residents experiencing the worst outcomes compared to other racial and ethnic groups in the state.
A persistent Black health equity gap
At 17%, the Black uninsured rate for adults in Florida is higher than the national average. It's topped by the Hispanic population, which at 21%, is the most uninsured group in the state.
Both racial and ethnic groups, joined by Native American tribal members, are also the most likely to forgo medical care because of cost, which is an accelerating national trend, according to the report.
"The number of people reporting they skip needed care because of cost has crept up in recent years. ... These findings reflect the intertwined relationship of insurance coverage, affordability and access to care," research associate Kristen Kolb said.
In addition to threats to healthcare access, Black patients in Florida are also more likely to die early from preventable conditions, such as appendicitis, diabetes and certain cancers, compared to other racial and ethnic groups, which is an indicator of health outcomes.
Nationally, and in Florida, Black and Hispanic children are also less likely than white children to receive age-appropriate preventative and dental care visits, according to the report.
Kolb said other social and economic factors often play into health disparities impacting children like "common logistical challenges to attending well-child visits, like challenges with transportation, appointment availability, language concordance with providers and parents or caregivers taking time off work."
While Black patients in Florida, ranking at the 31st percentile, experience clear disparities in the healthcare system compared to other racial and ethnic groups, the report still finds the gap in care less severe than in other states across the Southeast, like Alabama and Mississippi.
Gabriella Paul covers the stories of people living paycheck to paycheck in the greater Tampa Bay region for WUSF. Here’s how you can share your story with her.
