While coronavirus does not know boundaries of race, income, or ethnicity, its disproportionate impact on minority communities is unmistakable and points to a deeper crisis of racial disparities in health care that have persisted long before the onset of this disease.
As a former member of Congress who represented Philadelphia, the nation’s sixth-largest city with a minority population of over 60 percent (Schwartz), and the President of the National Black Nurses Association, a health system administrator and educator of more than 40 years (Dawson), this is a subject close to our hearts.
Last year, we participated in a convening on racial disparities in health care hosted by Better Medicare Alliance that brought together representatives from the National Minority Quality Forum, NAACP, National Medical Association, members of the Congressional Black Caucus, and other health equity leaders.
We believe that Medicare Advantage – the managed care option in Medicare where more than 24 million seniors and Americans with disabilities receive coverage – highlights successful remedies for the inequities in health care that are deeply felt amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Increasing numbers of racial minorities are choosing Medicare Advantage for their health care needs.
