- A report broke down outcomes in healthcare in each state and DC according to five racial groups.
- White people in 41 of the 53 measured states and DC fared the best in healthcare performance score.
- Researchers attribute disparities to decades of policy failures, calling for a universal program.
Black and Indigenous Americans are twice as likely than white people to die early from treatable conditions, a new study reveals.
The Common Fund Study report looked at a number of factors driving the US healthcare system in all 50 states and the District of Columbia between 2019 and 2020, producing a score of performance for five racial and ethnic groups.
White people in 41 of the 53 measured states and DC fared the best in health care performance scores.
In contrast, Black Americans were more likely than white people to die from treatable and preventable illnesses.
"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.
The study measured several healthcare factors, including the frequency of fatalities to treatable underlying conditions such as diabetes, the stage of cancer diagnosis, and cost-related barriers to quality care.
The report found that Minnesota, which is rated highly in healthcare quality, had some of the largest racial inequality outcomes.
Only Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Hawaii and Oregon had an above-average score for all groups.
Racial health inequalities are driven by a number of factors in access and quality of care, as well as environmental and economic inequalities. In communities of color, people are more prone to be uninsured and live in poverty and polluted environments, the study says.
That study also found that in some states, Latino and Indigenous Americans between the ages of 19-64 are more than two times as likely as white people to be uninsured.
The study highlights decades of policy failures that have led to economic disparities, unequal education access and segregated housing. All factors have contributed to the worse health outcomes for communities of color.
To mend the inequalities, researchers call for affordable and universal health care coverage, increasing primary care providers, and investing in healthcare facilities and social services in communities of color.
Researchers in the study say political leaders at all levels of government must re-analyze the existing laws and regulations for their impact on people of color's access to the quality of care they receive.