March 31, 2008
Health disparties in the California Medi-Cal program
From UCLA:
In the first external analysis of the California Department of Health Service's Medi-Cal Managed Care program, researchers from the UCLA Department of Family Medicine found widespread health care disparities based on ethnicity, race and language throughout the system.
And African Americans are bearing the brunt of it.
Specific findings included the following:
* 62 percent of African American children received all six recommended childhood vaccinations, compared with 67 percent of non-Hispanic whites, 78 percent of Hispanics and 82 percent of Asians/Pacific Islanders.
* 43 percent of African American women received breast cancer screenings, compared with 49 percent of non-Hispanic whites, 55 percent of Hispanics and 56 percent of Asians/Pacific Islanders.
* At 66 percent, African Americans with diabetes have the lowest rate of hemoglobin AIc testing, compared with 71 percent for non-Hispanic whites, 75 percent for Hispanics and 76 percent for Asians/Pacific Islanders.