Georgia Lawmaker in Opinion Piece Calls for More Attention to Racial/Ethnic Health Disparities

"While health care disparities are said to be diminishing somewhat, these gaps are not closing fast enough," Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.) writes in a Henry Daily Herald opinion piece. He adds, "Innovative approaches must be put in place and all involved must be at the table to address this issue." According to Scott, "numerous studies show that minority populations are more likely to acquire and die from high blood pressure, hypertension, heart disease, HIV/AIDS, cancers and diabetes. This is an unacceptable situation that has persisted for far too long."

Scott notes that he and several other lawmakers recently signed a joint letter in support of the National Center for Health Statistics, which he says "will ensure we have the adequate data we need to identify health disparities" and "provide the basis for understanding and identifying disparities in health and allowing us to target culturally specific, effective and appropriate public health campaigns."

Scott writes that he wants "to make certain minority communities are not ignored and the numbers in these studies addressing health care disparities are not just hollow statistics," adding, "Rather, we need to recognize that these numbers represent real people with real problems and make a serious effort to improve upon them" (Scott, Henry Daily Herald, 5/1).