Racial Health Disparities Take Human and Economic Toll
Despite incredible scientific and medical advances like penicillin and vaccines that protect us from polio, measles, influenza, and now COVID-19, healthcare disparities continue to disproportionately harm minorities and add billions of dollars to the cost of healthcare.
Conditions like heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes top a long list of medical conditions disproportionately affecting minority populations, according to Hamilton Health Center CEO Jeannine Peterson. The clinic serves thousands, including a large minority population, who might otherwise have little or no access to healthcare.
These disparities come at a steep price.
Health disparities added nearly $230 billion in direct medical costs, and about $1 trillion in productivity losses, costs associated with early death, and other indirect costs, to the nation’s healthcare bill from 2003-2006, according to a study by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.