This September 2009 study, commissioned by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and carried out by leading researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland, provides important insight into how much of a financial burden racial disparities are putting on our health care system and society at large.The researchers examined the direct costs associated with the provision of care to a sicker and more disadvantaged population, as well as the indirect costs of health inequities such as lost productivity, lost wages, absenteeism, family leave, and premature death.
What they found was striking. More than 30 percent of direct medical costs faced by African Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans were excess costs due to health inequities – more than $230 billion over a three year period. And when you add the indirect costs of these inequities over the same period, the tab comes to $1.24 trillion.
As legislators look for ways to make health reform pay for itself, it appears that eliminating health inequities can provide an important source of savings.
