A new Commonwealth Fund study has found that there are significant disparities in the health care system in the U.S. for Black and Hispanic people compared to white people. The study revealed that Connecticut, particularly, has more severe racial and ethnic disparities in health care.
In Connecticut, Black people had among the best health care compared to 39 other states, ranking 5 out of 39. However, within the state, racial gaps were significant and the health system performed the worst for Black people. Black individuals in Connecticut were over two times more likely than white individuals to die before the age of 75 from treatable causes. Additionally, Black people aged 65 and older had nearly double the rate of potentially avoidable ER visits and hospital readmissions within 30 days. Furthermore, Black babies in Connecticut were over three times more likely to die than white babies.
The study also found that 16% of the Hispanic population in Connecticut was uninsured, compared to only 4% of the white population. On the other hand, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders had some of the best health outcomes in the state compared to 31 other states where data was available.
Overall, white people in Connecticut had some of the best health outcomes in the nation, ranking fourth. This highlights the stark disparities that exist within the health care system in Connecticut and serves as a call to action for addressing these inequities.