Should healthcare reform be 'color-blind'? Addressing the barriers to improving minority health.

The scandalous disparity between the health indicators for minority and nonminority and poor and nonpoor populations is of such long standing that it has lost th power to shock. The authors review the landmark studies of the past year which document discrimination in the healthcare system. They reiterate the most compelling statistics of mortality, birth, the AIDS epidemic, destructive health habits, and poverty. They trace the impact of healthcare policy on these vulnerable populations and address the myth that malpractice claims are filed more frequently by the poor. They conclude that equality is instrumental to the improvement of the nation's health demographics; the persistence of economic, social, and political discrimination will continue to create barriers even if financial access is assured through a pluralistic approach to healthcare reform. Ultimately, they predict that any healthcare reform that does not address minority issues is doomed to fail if all three areas driving the national "crisis"--access, cost, and quality--do not encompass minority-specific healthcare strategies.