Black and Hispanic Ohioans face stark health disparities
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Black and Hispanic Ohioans continue to experience massive disparities in health care, according to a new national study.
Why it matters: Health disparities leave thousands of Ohioans suffering from preventable conditions, financial strain and a lack of trust in the health care system, with stark gaps across racial groups.
Driving the news: This week, private health care research firm The Commonwealth Fund published its 2026 State Health Disparities Report.
- The study behind the report evaluated 24 indicators of health system performance with data from 2022-2024 for racial and ethnic groups in each state.
- Based on composite scores of those indicators, groups were given percentile scores from 1 (worst) to 100 (best).
The big picture: Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) and white Ohioans scored above average, while Black and Hispanic Ohioans lagged far behind.
- That's consistent with the national trend, which shows AANHPI and white residents have significantly better health indicators than Black and Hispanic residents in nearly every state.
What they're saying: "As a primary care physician, I've seen how racial and ethnic disparities not only harm the people experiencing them, but also weaken the entire system," Commonwealth Fund president Joseph R. Betancourt said in a release.
- "Our report shows even high-performing states are not immune. But the truth is, when health systems look at where they're falling short for their patients and make closing those gaps a real priority, they deliver better care for everyone."
By the numbers: Black Ohioans die of avoidable causes much more frequently (493 per 100,000) than their white (309), Hispanic (205) and AANHPI (115) counterparts.
- Hispanic Ohioans (22.6%) are significantly more likely to be uninsured than other groups, all between 7-12%.
- Hispanic Ohioans (24.5%) are nearly twice as likely to have gone without care because of cost than the next-closest group (Black Ohioans).
- The infant mortality rate for Black Ohioans is a staggering 13.1 per 1,000 live births, nearly double the rate of Hispanic Ohioans (6.7).
The bottom line: The report says its evidence shows "states with stronger overall health system performance also tend to perform better on health equity."
- It says state factors like Medicaid eligibility, medical debt and family and parent support can all contribute to better outcomes.
- It also proposes steps Congress could take to improve nationwide health outcomes, including expanding access to insurance, strengthening primary care delivery, protecting access to preventive care and implementing "digital health innovations."