Equitable Health Care

In states where data is available, it was discovered that Black people and American Indian/Alaska Native people frequently die earlier than White people due to conditions that are treatable with proper access to quality health care.

As of 2018, life expectancy among Black people was four years lower than White people, with the lowest expectancy among Black men.

Blacks were less likely than Whites to receive diagnostic and revascularization procedures and thrombolytic therapy even when patient characteristics were similar. Furthermore, Blacks were less likely to undergo invasive cardiac procedures in the Veterans healthcare system.

Diabetes is a condition that can be effectively managed with blood glucose monitoring and medications. Yet diabetes is associated with racial and ethnic disparities in outcomes as Black people and American Indian/Alaska Native people are more likely to die from diabetes-related complications. 

Major depression goes undiagnosed and untreated at disproportionally greater rates in majority Black and Hispanic communities, which leads to unnecessary suffering.

The Commonwealth Fund’s health equity scorecard found racial and ethnic health inequities in all 50 states and the District of Columbia — disparities that have been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. In almost all states, Black Americans are more likely than White Americans to die from preventable and treatable conditions due to lack of timely, high-quality healthcare.