Black Americans in almost every state were more likely than white Americans to die from preventable and treatable health conditions, a new report from the Commonwealth Fund out Thursday shows.
Why it matters: A lack of health care access, and "timely, high-quality care," were correlated to poorer health outcomes, the authors conclude.
- Within most states, white populations received better care overall compared with Black, Latinx/Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian people.
The big picture: The report analyzed dozens of factors of health care systems in every state and Washington, D.C., between 2019 and 2020, which showed even states that had higher scores overall had disparities.
- Only six states had an above-average performance for all racial and ethnic groups — Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Hawaii and Oregon.
- The report pointed out states like Minnesota and Wisconsin that performed strongly in previous findings from the Commonwealth Fund but had some of the largest racial inequities.
What they're saying: "If we want to get the pandemic under control and mitigate these inequities, we need to dismantle the racist policies and practices that have led us here," Commonwealth Fund president David Blumenthal said in a statement.