A significant portion of my career has been spent in health care and education, studying how racial disparities have impacted the systems that provide care to our communities. Credible research has shown Blacks are disproportionately affected by most illnesses. Social factors within race and class have significantly contributed to this disparity.
Health care access should not be determined by race, spoken language, occupation, gender, or economic standing. All individuals should have the same access to healthcare and be afforded the same opportunities when in need of care.
Having access to systems that promote the health and well-being of our families and communities is foundational to the development of prosperity. Health is a fundamental human right.
The process of identifying and fixing disparities within our healthcare systems cannot be done in silos. It will take partnerships between government, providers, business, and academia to collectively form foundational alliances to reverse disparities.
In a recent column, I referred to a study outlining the costs of racial and ethnic health disparities involving people of color. The study, led by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Massachusetts, indicated that health inequities cost Massachusetts around $5.9 billion a year.
Certainly, a sharper degree of attention is gained when these inequities are outlined in actual costs.
A prime example of the impact of health disparities was outlined in a July 2023 report from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The report said, from 2011 to 2020, rates of maternal health complications nearly doubled with Black women experiencing the highest rates of labor and delivery problems. While this is but one example, it is one worth highlighting.
In Massachusetts, concrete steps have been taken to address healthcare inequities, and these efforts deserve our attention.
Following their healthcare cost analysis, The Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation followed up with a report proposing a statewide Health Equity Plan with an aim to “offer an organizing structure, process, and set of practical steps for collectively achieving a racially and ethnically equitable healthcare delivery system” in the Commonwealth.
This plan proposes an initial “fast start” in identifying strategies that include both consumers and communities to identify and collect best practices. According to the report, a foundational, permanent organizing structure will document implementation and collaboration and action labs will work in areas such as “clinical care, payment models, and provider access standards, all designed to strengthen equity.”
The foundation also will work with the Health Equity Compact, a group of over of 80 leaders of color from a variety of sectors to advance a more equitable system of healthcare delivery.
Government also must play a role.
Working with the Health Equity Compact, the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing has proposed a bill, “An Act to Advance Health Equity,” that aims to break down systemic barriers that promote inequities, but the bill has been stalled in Committee. In a hearing in September, 2023, Rep. Bud L. Williams (D-Springfield), the co-chair of the Joint Committee on Racial Equity, Civil Rights and Inclusion said, “There are things in this bill that could have been done many, many years ago if we had had what, the appetite, the will, the determination, to get it done.”
I commend Rep. Williams and his colleagues in the legislature for bringing attention to and expressing the immediacy of addressing measures that bolster equity. We must be determined to generate real structural changes within our systems.
As we recognize and celebrate Black History Month, attention to systemic inequities within all areas of society must be examined and discussed. A focus on the healthcare of all members of our communities should be a critical part of those discussions.
Reversing health disparities within our communities requires a broad approach that includes a variety of voices working toward a common goal.
We must have the appetite and determination to develop policies that benefit the health and wellness of all members of our communities. The actions we take now can only lead to a brighter and prosperous future for citizens of the world.
Linda Thompson is president of Westfield State University. To learn more about Westfield State, visit westfield.ma.edu
