Blacks Continue to Lose the Health Care Battle

Oct. 24, 2006 — -- Blacks receive poorer health care than whites do. Studies have shown this time and time again.

Research now suggests that that these health care disparities do not stem from differences in access to care or the quality of health insurance, as some experts thought previously.

Researchers at Harvard and Brown universities say a racial gap persists in health care regardless of what health insurance plans people have, according to a study published in today's Journal of the American Medical Association.

Blacks still experience diminished health care when compared with whites, even when blacks are enrolled in "high-quality" health plans, plans in which a larger percentage of patients demonstrate signs of good health.

Poor health care often translates into poor health outcomes. But that cannot change until experts understand what's behind the disparities, experts say.

The Harvard/Brown researchers analyzed the blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure levels of more than 300,000 black and white patients. All were enrolled in one of 151 Medicare health plans in 38 states.

These weren't necessarily healthy patients -- they needed medical care.

At the start of the study, each patient had diabetes, high blood pressure or had suffered a cardiac problem, such as a heart attack or stroke.

Diabetes, high blood pressure and heart attacks can lead to stroke, kidney disease, heart attacks or death if not properly treated.

Proper treatment means keeping an eye on these high-risk patients to help them control their health problems. But black patients in the study were 6 to 14 percent more likely than white patients to have uncontrolled blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure levels.