Implementation Groups

Purpose: How can Tennessee use the ACA to reduce disparities in Tennessee? Health disparities are the persistent gaps between the health status of minorities and non-minorities in the United States. In Tennessee, close to 1.5 million of 6.2 Tennesseans are minorities. Here is an impotant link: How Health Reform Helps Communities of Color and a Fact Sheet

Despite continued advances in health care and technology, racial and ethnic minorities continue to have higher rates of disease, disability and premature death than non-minorities.

African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, have higher rates of infant mortality, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV infection/AIDS, cancer and lower rates of immunizations and cancer screening.

The causes are complex, but two major factors are:

Inadequate Access to Care
Barriers to care can result from economic, geographic, linguistic, cultural and health care financing issues. Even when minorities have similar levels of access to care, health insurance and education, the quality and intensity of health care they receive are often poor.

Substandard Quality of Care
Lower quality care has many causes, including patient-provider miscommunication, provider discrimination, stereotyping or prejudice. Quality of care is usually rated on the four measures of effectiveness, patient safety, timeliness and patient centeredness.

Resources:

New Report: State of Blacks in Middle Tennessee - December 2010

What ACA means for African Americans - The Root

Health Reform: Laying the Foundation to End Health Disparities

National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities - HealthCare.Gov

Policy Recommendations for Inclusion in ACA - Community Catalyst

Issue Brief - Families USA

Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care: Partnerships Between Employers and Health Plans

Breaking Through on the Social Determinants of Health and Health Disparities - RWJF