Racial Disparities in U.S. Health Care

Significant Health Gaps Exsist Among Racial and Ethnic Minorities

Jun 18, 2009

Minorities in the U.S. tend to have more health problems. That disturbing trend has many health care executives questioning the viability of the current system.

President Barack H. Obama II, as promised, has now put changing the current U.S. health care system front and center on a seemingly ever-growing to-do list, as if he doesn't already have more than enough going on.

With a war in both Iraq and Afghanistan, North Korea rattling sabers, bailouts of the financial industry as well as two of the three major U.S. auto makers, these are some very interesting times on the American political scene.

With the U.S. and most of the leading industrialized nations of the world still in the grips of a severe economic meltdown, there is now an ever-growing emphasis on the need to cut costs while sustaining maximum efficiencies in every industry possible including U.S. health care.

U.S. Health Care Issues

According to a briefing report and statistics released on June 12th, 2009 by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, "there are gaps between the health status of minorities and non-minorities in the United States."

The report which focused on cardiovascular disease and the related condition of hypertension was given by a distinguished panel of speakers which included Louis W. Sullivan, M.D., Chairman of the Sullivan Alliance to Transform the Health Professions and Former Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and President Emeritus, Morehouse School of Medicine.

The report states that, "racial and ethnic minorities continue to have more disease and related conditions of hypertension, disability, and premature death than non-minorities."

Experts presented the results from some ongoing research, health care delivery systems, access to and quality of care, community education, patient behavior and other aspects of health differences between populations groups.

In sum, these reports detailed that on the whole racial and ethnic minorities tended to receive a lower quality of health care, even when access-related factors, such as patients' insurance status and income were controlled.

The sources of these disparities seem to be rooted in bias, discrimination, and stero-typing at the individual (provider and patient), institutional, and health system levels according to one report by Brian D. Smedley Adrieene Stith, and Alan Nelson all of the Institute of Medicine.

What Constitutes Discrimination in U.S. Health Care

The committee's analysis on this particular instance focused on two things, first, the operation of health care systems, or the legal and regulatory climate in which health systems function. And second, discrimination at the individual, patient-provider level.

For the purposes of this discussion the committee defines discrimination as the differences in care that result from biases, prejudice, stereo-typing, and uncertainty in clinical communication and decision-making.

The copyright of the article Racial Disparities in U.S. Health Care in Race & Politics is owned by Paul Hamilton. Permission to republish Racial Disparities in U.S. Health Care in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.