The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a think tank in Washington, DC,  has published a new study that raises the question of  how inequities in health care for minorities are impacting the cost of health care in the country at large. The study was carried out by researchers at the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University.

Some of the health disparities minorities face include these statistics:

•Mexican-Americans are nearly twice as likely to have diabetes as whites.

•Vietnamese-American women have nearly five times the rate of cervical cancer as white women.

•Black men are twice as likely to have prostate cancer as white men.

The study confirmed that minority Americans are much more likely to die as infants, have shorter life spans, and have higher rates of diseases and disabilities. However, the issue is complex and the cause of the disparities is not completely known.

The study puts dollar amounts on how these discrepancies result in higher medical costs. For instance, it found that more than 30% of direct medical costs faced by African Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans were excess costs due to health inequities, which comes out to over $230 billion. The study also states that indirect costs of health inequities such a lost productivity, lost wages, absenteeism, family leave, and premature death raise that total to $1.24 trillion.

The researchers do not specifically address how to fix these discrepencies. However, the study's findings do seem to provide backing for health care reform proposals that would directly addressing these racial gaps -- for instance, proposals with incentives for physicians to work in underserved areas or proposals that would provide more money for hospitals that treat low-income minorities.

Previously:

• Facing Health Care on My Own
• Ten Health Care Terms You Need to Know
• Young Docs Talk Health Reform