Racial and Ethnic Inequities in Use of Preventive Services Among Privately Insured Adults With a Pediatric-Onset Disability

As undergraduate students interested in preventive care and racial/ethnic inequities in healthcare, we found the authors' study to be of great interest. In reviewing your study, two key points stood out to us. First, in measuring the rate at which preventative screenings are performed with private insurance among the various races and ethnicities there are a few notable discontinuities. The overall education and income levels vary between racial groups, potentially skewing the data as both demographic measures play a role in healthcare access. Additionally, although there are often no out-of-pocket expenses for wellness visits, there are still racial inequities in access to the visits among privately insured individuals. Finally, we identified potential limitations in pulling data from only insurance claims. Insurance claims may not contain detailed physicians’ notes and details whether a patient presented with the option to take part in a preventative treatment.
The other key point that stood out to us was the importance of identifying barriers to accessing preventative care for people with disabilities and for different ethnic/racial groups. Being able to identify barriers preventing people from accessing care is critical as it would allow for changes to be made to increase preventative care system utilization. Considering the general finding of the study was that overall access to preventative care was low, would looking into the specific hindrances to access and finding solutions allow more people to gain access to preventative care? This study emphasizes the importance of racial and ethnic inequities in regard to access to preventative care facilities and we look forward to further exploration of the highlighted disparities. Thank you for considering our questions.