Black Medicare beneficiaries "fare worse" than white beneficiaries "even when they belong to the same health plan," an indication that health care disparities "cannot be attributed to individual, inferior doctors," according to a study published on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Boston Globe reports.
For the study, researchers at Harvard University and Brown University reviewed the medical status of more than 430,000 Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in 151 health plans from 2002 through 2004 (Smith, Boston Globe, 10/25). Researchers considered four "outcome measures" for diabetes, hypertension and heart disease (George, CQ HealthBeat, 10/24). The study found that the largest disparity in health occurred among participants who had experienced heart problems. According to the study, 72% of white participants who had experienced heart problems had their cholesterol levels under control, compared with 57% of black participants (Boston Globe, 10/25). The study indicates that racial health care disparities "cannot be attributed to high- or low-performing health plans or specific regions of the country," CQ HealthBeat reports (CQ HealthBeat, 10/24). In addition, the study indicates that the "problem of health care disparities is widespread and deeply rooted, reflecting medical, social and economic factors," the Globe reports (Boston Globe, 10/25). Such factors might include communication problems between physicians and patients and differences in the lifestyles and dietary habits of black and white Medicare beneficiaries, according to the study. However, "without further data, it would be difficult to pinpoint a cause -- and therefore difficult to determine how plans can improve treatment," CQ HealthBeat reports (CQ HealthBeat, 10/24).
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Amal Trivedi, lead author of the study and an assistant professor of community health at Brown, said, "We can't say specifically why the gaps exist in each plan. It's probably a shared responsibility of plans, providers and patients. There's probably not one factor that explains all of the disparity, but health plans do play an important role" (Lee, Washington Post, 10/25). Trivedi added, "This study indicates that most health plans have substantial opportunities to improve their outcomes for African-American enrollees on these measures." Peter Bach, a senior adviser at CMS, said that the study "tells us where we need to focus, and it's exactly where we're trying to focus." Bach said, "The fact that the plans have these sorts of quality measures in place ... is really a sign they're moving" to address racial health care disparities (CQ HealthBeat, 10/24). Susan Pisano, a spokesperson for America's Health Insurance Plans, said that health insurers, physicians and hospitals acknowledge that racial health care disparities exist. She added, "What's different about today versus five or 10 years ago is that we're moving beyond just identifying that there is a problem to figuring out how we're going to solve it. This is a complicated problem, and I don't think anybody thinks there is 'the' answer" (Boston Globe, 10/25).
An abstract of the study is available online.
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