Abstract
Background: Short- and long-term effects of COVID-19 will likely be designated pre-existing conditions. We describe the prevalence of pre-existing conditions among community health center patients overall and those with COVID-19 by race/ethnicity. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study used electronic health record data from OCHIN, a network of 396 community health centers across 14 states. Results: Among all patients with COVID-19, 33% did not have a pre-existing condition before the pandemic. Up to half of COVID-19-positive non-Hispanic Asians (51%), Hispanic (36%), and non-Hispanic black (28%) patients did not have a pre-existing condition before the pandemic. Conclusions: The future of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is uncertain, and the long-term health effects of COVID-19 are largely unknown; therefore, ensuring people with pre-existing conditions can acquire health insurance is essential to achieving health equity.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | S247-S249 |
Journal | Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine |
Volume | 34 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 2021 |
Keywords
- Affordable care act
- COVID-19
- Chronic disease
- Community health centers
- Cross-sectional studies
- Ethnic groups
- Health equity
- Health policy
- Pandemics
- Pre-existing condition
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Family Practice