Harris A, Guadix SW, Riley LH, et al. - A retrospective analysis was performed to evaluate alterations in racial/ethnic disparities in rates of lumbar spinal surgery after the passage of the ACA. Between 2006 through 2014, researchers employed approximately 3.2 million adults who had undergone lumbar spinal surgery in the US. They calculated rates of lumbar spinal surgery as the number of hospitals discharges divided by population estimates and stratified patients by race/ethnicity after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics applying the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, the U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey Supplement, and International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification, criteria for definite lumbar spinal surgery, It was reported that for lumbar spinal surgery, small but significant decreases occurred in racial/ethnic disparities in hospital discharge rates after ACA passage.