The United States faces a critical challenge in meeting a fundamental duty of any nation: preventing unnecessary suffering and death. When it comes to individual health and overall well-being, the U.S. is falling behind. This was highlighted in the Mirror, Mirror 2024 report, the Commonwealth Fund’s latest assessment of health systems in 10 high-income countries, which examined the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The study evaluates 70 measures of health system performance across five key areas: access to care, care processes, administrative efficiency, equity of care, and population health outcomes. The findings reveal that the U.S. ranks last overall and is either at the bottom or near the bottom in four out of the five key areas.
The analysis shows significant shortcomings in the U.S. health system compared to other nations, particularly regarding health equity and the experiences of Black Americans. How do systemic barriers and disparities affect their access to care and health outcomes? Understanding these dynamics is crucial for creating effective policies aimed at improving health equity and ensuring that everyone receives the quality care they deserve.
No More Race-Specific Measurement:
For years, African American children faced a troubling double standard, often judged by different metrics than their white counterparts. It seemed that Black children experienced fewer diseases according to the separate formulas designed for them. After these measurements, the prevalence of airway obstruction in White children surged by 21%, signaling a decline in respiratory well-being. On the flip side, Black children faced a staggering 222% increase in the likelihood of airway restriction, indicating a serious drop in lung capacity.
Why This is Important; This but another example of the danger of evaluating Black Americans as if they were somehow different from white children. In this instance, it resulted in less treatment for Black Children with significant respiratory disease. The actual consequence is not clear. But as a doctor who took care of thousands of Black Children, every time we screened without the use of specific unique formulas, almost 40 % of children had evidence of expiratory disease.
