22/8/2009
The Color of Health Care
“Segregation is still a profound problem in the United States,’ says Brian Smedley, a health-care expert with the Center for Joint Political and Economic Studies. ‘We’ve made a lot of progress in the past 50 years, [but] in many U.S. cities, we have segregation levels that are not far below apartheid South Africa.’
That ongoing de-facto segregation has a profound effect on the quality of care to which people of color — insured or otherwise — have access. While the health-care bills being debated in Congress would expand access to and quality of care for people of color, ultimately racial health disparities can’t be eliminated without better distribution of health resources. That doesn’t just mean more and better primary-care providers in minority neighborhoods; it also means environmentally safe living conditions, access to fresh and healthy foods, and safer and more exercise-friendly neighborhoods.”
- by The Buzz on the Root
