Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Access to Care

Racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to be sick and have a shorter life span than non-Hispanic Whites:

  • 17 percent of Hispanic and 16 percent of African American adults report that they have fair or poor health, in comparison to only 10 percent of Whites;
  • Virtually all minorities groups are between two and six times more likely to suffer from diabetes than Whites;
  • Between 1995 and 2002, African-American babies were 2 ½ times more likely to die before their first birthday than White babies.

Health coverage increases a person’s access to health care and is the single largest factor explaining disparities in whether an individual had a regular source of medical care:

  • In 2006, 62 percent of Latinos and 33 percent of African Americans of working age were uninsured, compared to 20 percent of Whites;
  • Hispanic children are nearly three times as likely as non-Hispanic white children to have no usual source of health care;
  • Data from Medicaid patients demonstrates that racial disparities in health outcomes greatly decrease when people are covered by health insurance.

While minority populations are in greater need of health care, our commercial insurance system duplicates and adds to discrimination in the labor market and discrimination in the economy. A single payer health care system would give all residents access to comprehensive health care, regardless of their work status, income, or where they live.

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