The views expressed are those of the authors, and should not be interpreted as being those of the Congressional Budget Office. Acknowledgments Special thanks to Steve Machlin from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for his statistical assistance and helpful comments. Introduction Since the mid-1980s, Medicaid has become an increasingly important source of health coverage for low-inc...

OBJECTIVE We examine the role of economic access in gender and ethnic/racial disparities in the use of health services among older adults. METHODS Data from the 1993-1995 study on the Asset of Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD) were used to investigate differences in the 2-year use of health services by gender and among non-Hispanic White versus minority (Hispanic and African Americ...

Despite marked improvements in lowering infant and maternal mortality rates, certain racial and ethnic groups have benefited less. The reasons for these inequalities are many and complex. This article reviews the literature to assess the extent and reasons for the disparate outcomes in infant and maternal mortality rates among different racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Some strate...

OBJECTIVES Healthy People 2010 calls for greater access to high-quality primary care as a means to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in children' health. Disparities in primary care quality have rarely been studied for children, and the few studies that have been conducted among adults are not readily applicable to children because of the different health care needs of the 2 populations. Thi...

OBJECTIVES Hospital emergency departments (EDs) are a place where many Americans seek treatment of dental conditions. Racial and ethnic minorities consistently have higher rates of ED utilization than whites for dental conditions. The reasons for these disparities and significant public health concerns are investigated less often. In this paper, we measure trends in racial disparities in ED dis...

CONTEXT This article explores the relationship between metropolitan fragmentation, as defined by the total number of governmental units within a metropolitan statistical area (local municipalities, special service districts, and school districts), and racial disparities in mortality among blacks and whites in the 1990s. The presence of numerous governmental jurisdictions in large metropolitan a...

Sigrulicant gaps in the health of minority individuals in the United States have long existed. However, a recent and bold commitment stemming from the President’s Initiative on Race and Health in 1998 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS], 1999) pledged to eliminate disparities experienced by racial and ethnic minority populations in the following six health areas: infant morta...

Large racial/ethnic and socioeconomic status (SES) differences in health persist in the United States. Eliminating these health disparities is a public health challenge of our time. This article addresses what is needed for social and behavioral interventions to be successful. We draw on important insights for reducing social inequalities in health that David Mechanic articulated more than a de...