Eliminating Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Health Care: What are the Options?

Publication Date: October 2008

Publisher: Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

Author(s):

Research Area: Health

Type: Brief

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

Racial and ethnic disparities in health care – whether in insurance coverage, access, or quality of care – are one of many factors producing inequalities in health status in the United States.  Eliminating these disparities is politically sensitive and challenging in part because their causes are intertwined with a contentious history of race relations in America. Nonetheless, assuring greater equity and accountability of the health care system is important to a growing constituency base, including health plan purchasers, payers, and providers of care. To the extent that inequities in the health care system result in lost productivity or use of services at a later stage of illness, there are health and social costs that affect us all.