Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Report: Every State Shows Racial, Ethnic Inequalities In Health Care
ABC News: Evidence Of Racial Disparities In Health Care Reported In Every US State: New Report
Racial and ethnic disparities in health care are evident in every state, even those with robust health systems, according to a new analysis from the Commonwealth Fund. In the analysis from the organization, which is aimed at promoting equitable health care, researchers found health system performance is markedly worse for many people of color compared to white people. (4/18)
Stat: States With Best Health Outcomes Still Have Large Racial Disparities
“Health equity does not exist in any state in the U.S.,” said David Radley, a co-author of the report and senior scientist at the Commonwealth Fund. Analyses of health system performance that average all groups together, he said, mask the gaps that exist within each state. The report also made clear that the health disparities experienced by different racial and ethnic groups were not universal but differed by state: Some, like North Carolina, had better outcomes than other states for Indigenous people, but worse outcomes than other states for Hispanic people. (McFarling, 4/18)
San Francisco Chronicle: Asian And White Californians Have The Best Health Care Access: Study
In California, the gap between Asian Americans, the group with the highest health system score, and American Indians, the group with the lowest score, is especially stark — and wider than in other Western states, the analysis found. “The gap in California is particularly large,” said the report’s co-author Arnav Shah, a senior research associate at the Commonwealth Fund, which tracks health industry trends. (Ho, 4/17)
In related news —
Minnesota Public Radio: Mayo Clinic Study Asks Black And Brown Youth About Racism In Health Care
The American Academy of Pediatrics says racism can negatively impact the health of children and adolescents, and the doctor’s office is one of the places where kids may experience racial bias. A team of Minnesota doctors asked Black and brown kids aged 11 to 18 about their experience in a recent study. Then, the researchers talked to their parents. (Bright and Elder, 4/17)
NPR: New Study Shows More Botched Executions For Black Prisoners
Studies of the death penalty have long shown racial inequality in its application, but a new report has found the disparity extends inside the death chamber itself. In an analysis of the more than 1,400 lethal injection executions conducted in the U.S. since 1982, researchers for the nonprofit Reprieve reported that states made significantly more mistakes during the executions of Black people than they did with prisoners of other races. (Eisner, 4/18)
The Washington Post: Majority Latino City Endures Years Of Toxic Water In Health ‘Crisis’
Rosana Monge clutched her husband’s death certificate and an envelope of his medical records as she approached the microphone and faced members of the water utility board on a recent Monday in this city in southeast New Mexico. “I have proof here of arsenic tests — positive on him, that were done by the Veterans Administration,” she testified about her husband, whose 2023 records show he had been diagnosed with “exposure to arsenic” before his death in February at age 79. “What I’m asking is for a health assessment of the community.” (Foster-Frau, 4/18)
Axios: Trust In Health Institutions Declines As More Rely On Own Judgment
Declining confidence in major institutions is driving more people to trust their own ability to assess health information or turn to friends for guidance, indicates a new global Edelman Trust Barometer survey provided exclusively to Axios. (Owens, 4/18)
