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Black Americans fare worse than Whites across a range of health care indicators, according to a recent report from the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust.
The analysis lists the following six statistics:
- Blacks have a higher mortality rate than any other racial or ethnic group for eight of the top 10 causes of death.
- Cancer rates among Blacks are 10 percent higher than those for White Americans.
- Blacks are almost twice as likely to have diabetes as non-Hispanic Whites.
- Blacks are six times more likely than Whites to be homicide victims.
- Blacks account for nearly half of new HIV infections but less than a quarter of the total population.
- Blacks make up a third of patients receiving kidney dialysis.
Much of the disparity can be attributed to a lack of access to health insurance and quality health care, the findings suggest. While millions of low-income people of color have gained access to health care through the Affordable Care Act, families face challenges in accessing that care due to a lack of familiarity with the system and, in some instances, a lack of culturally competent providers.
Next America will convene a panel of experts at 8:30 a.m. on October 8 to discuss steps to improve health outcomes for low-income people of color.
Follow this link for a livestream of the conversation.
This story is part of our Next America: Workforce project, which is supported by a grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
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