United States – Long-time ethnic and racial differences stay intact in health care in the United States as well as in places considered the most liberal, a new study shows.
Disparities Across Liberal States
For instance, California’s score for the care its health system provides to Hispanic American people is 45. The Commonwealth Fund report gives each state a 0–100-point scale range for the groups of people who live there, as reported by HealthDay.
This is all the more impressive than Florida’s health system, which scored 37 for the care delivered to foreigners living there.
However, their own residents are not treated as well as California’s sink white patients, who took home a score of 87.
The report “offers a comprehensive analysis of the way health care systems are functioning for people in every state, evaluating disparities in health and health care across racial and ethnic groups, both within and between states,” the report authors said.
The researchers used 25 measures to assess states individually for health care access, quality, service use, and health results for each and every racial and ethnic group.
The research group revealed that health disparities persist even in states with a reputation for top-quality health care.
To illustrate it, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Connecticut, which had relatively high rates of treating all patients, still had health disparities between white and non-white residents, as researchers pointed out.
Across the country, Blacks, American Indians, and Alaskan Natives passed away prematurely than average from preventable and treatable causes, the report said.
Regional Disparities
Additionally, in some southwestern and Mountain states, the premature death rate for Hispanics exceeds the national average rate. In contrast, it aligns more closely with white residents’ rates in most other regions. The grouping comprises New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming.
Nevertheless, Black and White residents’ preventable deaths are higher in three southern and central states, such as Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Kentucky, as reported by HealthDay.
Policy Recommendations for Equity
The report’s authors suggest pursuing four broad policy goals to create an equitable health system: The report’s authors suggest pursuing four broad policy goals to create an equitable health system:
- Improve primary care
- Use paper lessons for patients and providers.
- Invest in social services.
“Since disparities and health inequities vary across states, there are also opportunities for state programs to tailor interventions that address communities’ unique needs,” the researchers added.