Racial Disparities Are Highlighted by Pandemic

by Peter Johnson

 

The COVID-19 pandemic has been especially harmful to people of color in the U.S., as they are more likely to suffer financial hardship, extreme cases of the disease or death than the white population. Experts say the devastation to communities of color is the product of systemic racism — particularly a lack of access to insurance coverage and quality care — and the pandemic's economic consequences will make all of those problems worse.

According to a Sept. 15 report released by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and the Epic Health Research Network, people of color were more likely to test positive for COVID-19 and to require a higher level of care at the time of diagnosis compared to white patients, and they also were more likely to be hospitalized and die from the novel coronavirus than white patients were.

The economic impact of the pandemic has been similarly dire for households of color. According to a Sept. 16 survey prepared by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, majorities of Latino (72%), Black (60%) and Native American (55%) households all "report facing serious financial problems during the coronavirus outbreak."

The survey also found that 25% of Latino households, 18% of Black households and 12% of Native American households "report serious problems affording medical care during the coronavirus outbreak."

 
Policymakers say that COVID-19's poor outcomes within communities of color are sadly predictable. During an Oct. 7 webinar organized by Axios, Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), a member of the Cherokee Nation, said that the problems in Indian Country are a direct product of underfunding the federal Indian Health Service (IHS), which is the primary insurer and provider for Native Americans. According to Mullin, the IHS receives about one-third of the funding per patient as Medicare, Medicaid and the Veterans Administration.

Leading public health figures have argued that racial disparities must be accounted for in plans to distribute COVID-19 vaccines. On Oct. 6, a panel convened by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine released a draft of a report titled Framework for Equitable Allocation of COVID-19 Vaccine. The framework emphasizes the importance of accounting for existing racial disparities in vaccine distribution, and noted the skepticism that communities of color have toward vaccines and the medical profession in general.

 

From Health Plan Weekly