Health insurance disparities among racial/ethnic minorities in same-sex relationships: an intersectional approach.

Abstract

We examined disparities in health insurance coverage for racial/ethnic minorities in same-sex relationships. We used data from the 2009 to 2011 American Community Survey on nonelderly adults (aged 25-64 years) in same-sex (n = 32 744), married opposite-sex (n = 2 866 636), and unmarried opposite-sex (n = 268 298) relationships. We used multinomial logistic regression models to compare differences in the primary source of health insurance while controlling for key demographic and socioeconomic factors. Adults of all races/ethnicities in same-sex relationships were less likely than were White adults in married opposite-sex relationships to report having employer-sponsored health insurance. Hispanic men, Black women, and American Indian/Alaska Native women in same-sex relationships were much less likely to have employer-sponsored health insurance than were their White counterparts in married opposite-sex relationships and their White counterparts in same-sex relationships. Differences in coverage by relationship type and race/ethnicity may worsen over time as states follow different paths to implementing health care reform and same-sex marriage.