The death of George Floyd ignited the last two weeks of protests in nearly every major city in the United States. Floyd’s death, coming amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, is what many are calling “a wake up call” that has sparked calls for reform and social justice.
Taking a step back, we can see that these demonstrations are about more than just police reform and brutality. Not only has racial inequality reached its highest point in five decades, but continues to bring to light disparities in both education and healthcare sectors.
We’ve examined these problems, including why there has been so much disparity in healthcare.
Why Are These Healthcare Disparities So Significant?
- Data suggests that minority groups have less access to health care than whites. For instance.
- A high percentage of hispanics are uninsured. Now, compare that with 13% among whites.
- Native Americans and Native Alaskan are faced with the lack of prenatal care.
- Nationally, women are more likely to avoid a doctor’s visit due to cost if they are in a minority group.
- Racial and ethnic minorities that are diagnosed with dementia are 30% less likely to use anti-dementia medications.
Data suggests that the sources of racial and ethnic health care disparities include differences in geography. For instance, in New York City, the coronavirus hit lower-income, heavily populated neighborhoods the hardest especially in neighborhoods that had a large number of public housing. But location is not the only factor, it’s evident that lack of access to adequate health coverage and communication difficulties between patient and provider are all factors that contribute to the disparity as well.
Along with fighting for reform and social justice, closing the gap can prove to be a difficult task. Common sense concludes that health disparities could be narrowed by providing minorities with better health insurance coverage, more assistance, and higher incomes.
Source:
American Bar Association. 2020. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/the-state-of-healthcare-in-the-united-states/racial-disparities-in-health-care/
