Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., once said, “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” This quote is the touchstone of a new report – State of the Dream 2014: Healthcare for Whom? Enduring Racial Disparities – the 11th Annual MLK, Jr. Day report from United for a Fair Economy (UFE).
State of the Dream 2014 documents the heavy toll that continued racial segregation and concentrated poverty takes on people’s health. High poverty communities often lack adequate healthcare facilities, full-service grocery stores, and green space to walk or jog. These communities also face higher exposure to lead and other toxins, mold, and even industrial pollutants. These factors, coupled with the physical stress of caring for one’s family amidst high crime rates, poverty, and persistent racism all exact a price. People of color face the brunt of this injury as poor Blacks are 7.3 times as likely as poor Whites, and poor Latinos are 5.7 times as likely, to live in such high-poverty neighborhoods.
Dedrick Muhammad of the NAACP, and an advisor on the report stated, “Governors and state elected officials across the nation have an opportunity to begin reversing the historical and persistent racism that continues to steer families and individuals toward poverty and poor health.” He adds, “Their commitment to deny underserved communities and communities of color access to basic healthcare equates to a commitment to fight against justice for all.”
The state fights over Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) – also known as Obamacare – deepen the insult to an already difficult situation according to the report. “It’s bad enough that communities of color face additional health hazards and stressors,” adds Brian Miller, executive director of UFE and author of the report. “Now we have politicians around the nation trying to block health insurance coverage that would have otherwise been extended to millions of low-income Americans.”
Following the Supreme Court ruling in 2012, states were no longer required to expand their Medicaid programs as provided for under the ACA. Since then, 25 states – all but three headed by Republican governors – have declared their commitment to NOT expand their Medicaid programs in 2014. The nearly 5 million who are affected by the 25-state coverage gap are disproportionately people of color.
Blacks make up only 13 percent of the population according to the new report, but account for 27 percent of those who will fall through the GOP’s 25-state coverage gap. The disparate impact on African Americans is in large part a result of conservative states in the South, where large numbers of Blacks reside, rejecting the ACA’s Medicaid expansion.
Latinos make up 15 percent of the population, but account for 21 percent of those who fall through the new 25-state coverage gap. Over 1 million of the nearly 5 million who will go without health care because of the 25-state coverage gap live in Texas, a state that is 38 percent Latino. Florida has the second largest Latino population among the 25 states currently not expanding coverage.
The full report, State of the Dream 2014: Healthcare for Whom?, is available as a free download at www.faireconomy.org/dream.
