• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
California Health Advocates

California Health Advocates

  • Contact
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Contact
    • Our Team
    • Mission
    • Education Services
    • About HICAP
    • Press
    • Testimonials
  • MEDICARE COUNSELING
  • Fact Sheets
  • Topics
    • The Basics
    • Prescription Drugs
    • Low-Income Help
    • Medigap
    • Medicare Advantage
    • Other Health Insurance
    • Appeals
    • Billing & Claims
    • Disabilities
    • Long-Term Care
    • Tribal Nations & Medicare
    • Health Care Reform
    • Advocacy & Policy
    • Glossary
  • Fraud & Abuse
  • Medicare Complaints
  • Blog
  • Donate

Health Disparities Are Still “Alive & Well” in America

California Health Advocates > News > Medicare & Other Health Insurance > Health Disparities Are Still “Alive & Well” in America

Posted by Karen Joy Fletcher on March 21, 2013

As a nation, Americans get sick more often than other industrialized countries. Since the mid 1990s Americans with at least 3 chronic illnesses has nearly doubled, and America’s ranking in infant mortality and lifespan has also plunged. This decline in overall health in our population is seen across the board, yet the numbers are far more grave depending on one’s ethnicity.

Below is an info-graphic with data from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Health Care Statistics highlighting some of these the health inequalities, especially those of African Americans. The infographic particularly highlights the percentages of uninsured people younger 65 and the disparities among ethnicities. It also demonstrates the disparities on the percentage of people expected to live in good health, with only 55.9% of African Americans expected to live in good health as opposed to 69.4% of non-Hispanic Whites.

While having health insurance plays a major role in accessing health care, lack of health care is not the cause of disease. Our American diet and personal health behaviors affect our health, and growing research shows that our eating and lifestyle habits depend on and are largely shaped by our social determinants of health such as access to: education; good, quality food; a safe, clean and friendly living environment; job opportunities; and experiences of equality, or lack there of, in our daily life. For more information on this important topic, see our article: Unnatural Causes: Effects of Socioeconomics and Racism on Health


News on Status of African American Insurance Coverage
Courtesy of: Financesonline.com – Hot Financial News

Filed Under: Medicare & Other Health Insurance

Previous Post: « CHA Advocates for Waiving 3-Day Inpatient Hospital Stay Requirement for Skilled Nursing Facility Coverage
Next Post: Learn About a Little Known Special Election Period for Part D When Moving Out of State »

About Karen Joy Fletcher

Our blogger Karen Joy Fletcher is CHA's Communications Director. With a Masters in Public Health from UC Berkeley, she is the online "public face" of the organization, provides technical expertise, writing and research on Medicare and other health care issues. She is responsible for digital content creation, management of CHA’s editorial calendar, and managing all aspects of CHA’s social media presence. She loves being a "communicator" and enjoys networking and collaborating with the passionate people and agencies in the health advocacy field. See her current articles.

Related Posts

  • PACT Act Brings Largest VA Health Care & Benefit Expansion in History
  • Clarification on Military Service and Increased Social Security Benefits
  • The COBRA & Medicare Conundrum
  • Medigap’s “Birthday Rule” is Extended to 60 Days

Primary Sidebar

Change Text Size

  • 100%  110%  120%  130%  

News & Blog Categories

  • Medicare Advantage
  • Low-Income help
  • Medicare & Disabilities
  • Medicare Basics
  • Prescription Drugs
  • Medicare & Other Health Insurance
  • Medicare Billings, Claims & Appeals
  • Health Care Disparities
  • Fraud & Abuse

—

  • COVID-19
  • Resources
  • Health Care Reform
  • Long-Term Care
  • CHA News

—

  • Advocacy & Policy
  • Letters and Comments to Policymakers
  • Legislative and Congressional Testimony
  • Policy Briefs

Send Us Comment

Do you have comments or concerns about your Medicare coverage? Issues regarding getting your needed prescriptions from your Part D plan, or a Medicare Advantage plan representative's marketing practices? Let us know at comments@cahealthadvocates.org.

We are dedicated to making Medicare's program work well for all beneficiaries. Your feedback from your own or your client's concerns and experiences with Medicare, will guide our Medicare advocacy efforts with key policy and decision-makers in both California and nationally with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Congress.

Archives

Donate Today

Footer

Sign up for our newsletter

Choose the news you'd like to receive

Important Links

  • About Us
  • Fact Sheets
  • Blog
  • Donate
  • Contact
  • Privacy Notice
  • Cookie Policy
  • Accessibility Statement

Follow Us

Copyright © 2023 · California Health Advocates · Web Design by TWK Web and Print Design · Log in