Racial-ethnic disparities in use of antidepressants in private coverage: implications for the Affordable Care Act.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to examine racial-ethnic disparities in the use of antidepressants among people with private coverage and people with public insurance or no coverage.


METHODS
Data were from Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys (2006-2010), and logistic regression was used for the analysis.


RESULTS
Among persons with depression and private coverage, racial-ethnic minority groups were significantly less likely than non-Hispanic whites to use antidepressants (N=4,468; adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=.50, 95% confidence interval [CI]=.33-.66 for non-Hispanic blacks; AOR=.70, CI=.55-.89 for Hispanics). No significant racial-ethnic disparity in the use of antidepressants was found in Medicare (N=1,944), Medicaid (N=2,125), and uninsured populations (N=1,679). For all racial-ethnic groups, persons with no insurance coverage had much lower rates of antidepressant use than their insured counterparts.


CONCLUSIONS
A wide racial-ethnic gap in the use of antidepressants existed in private coverage. As the nation continues to implement the Affordable Care Act, which will increase the number of enrollees from racial-ethnic minority groups in private plans, continuing efforts will be needed to reduce racial-ethnic disparities in the use of antidepressants.
Kyoungrae
K
Jung
Dooyoung
D
Lim
Yunfeng
Y
Shi
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D044383:Black People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008484:Medicaid / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017057:Medically Uninsured / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006278:Medicare / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D058991:Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001741:Black or African American
D000928:Antidepressive Agents