Defunding women's health clinics exacerbates Hispanic disparity in preventive care

- To prevent abortions, many states have cut funding for women's health.
- This reduced access to providers, including those that provide preventive care.
- I estimate the impact of greater distance to the nearest clinic on preventive care.
- For Hispanics, 100 more miles decreases breast exams, Pap tests, & checkups 14-23%.
- For non-Hispanics whites, there are no statistically significant results.

To prevent abortions, many states have cut funding for women's health, reducing access, including to preventive care. Merging BRFSS data with clinic locations from a network of women's health clinics, this paper estimates the relative impact of an increase in the driving distance to the nearest clinic on preventive care. For Hispanics women, a 100-mile increase decreases the rates of clinical breast exams by 23%, Pap tests by 16% and checkups by 14%. For non-Hispanics, there are no statistically significant results.