CHICAGO, Feb. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CEOs from four
national healthcare organizations today called on the Biden
administration to remedy the health inequities Black Americans
experience throughout their lives. The letter comes on the
heels of a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
report showing Black males lost three years of life expectancy due
to COVID-19 in six months, compared to 0.8 years for White
males.
In an open letter to President Joe
Biden, Vice President Kamala
Harris and members of their national healthcare team,
leaders of the American Diabetes Association, Black Women's Health
Imperative, Easterseals and March of Dimes said the four service
organizations' programs bear witness to the healthcare challenges
Black Americans receive starting at birth.
"We urge you to prioritize solutions to remedy these persistent
health care inequities within the Black community that have only
worsened during the pandemic," the CEOs write in the open letter,
published in The Hill, Politico, The Wall Street Journal and The
Washington Post. The full text is available at easterseals.com.
Racial Equity Concern Spans Health Conditions
The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the nation's health equity
shortcomings. The coronavirus death rate among Blacks is 1.9 times
that of whites, the CDC reported last week.
The nonprofit leaders applaud Biden's plans to strengthen the
Affordable Care Act and to protect Medicaid. Access to affordable,
quality health care, plus intervention and prevention programs,
they say, "promise to change the trajectory for communities of
color."
"We believe it is critical to raise health equity as a shared
concern as the Biden administration addresses issues within the
healthcare system," said Easterseals President and CEO Angela F. Williams, who organized the statement.
"Blacks often experience life and negotiate the healthcare system
with greater challenges. We are all too familiar with this given
that we lead organizations with similar missions and are regularly
called on to use our positions to support the Black community and
help shape a more equitable society.
"As one of the nation's largest nonprofit healthcare
organizations, Easterseals provides a range of services for
children and adults with disabilities, seniors and veterans," she
continued. "One in 4 Americans today are living with disability,
and of these individuals, 1 in 4 is Black. That gives us a wide and
diverse view of health equity.
"With such a broad perspective, we see disturbing trends in
healthcare parity that must be addressed," Williams continued.
Black children are diagnosed later than their peers with
developmental or intellectual disabilities. Black adults with
disabilities find it harder to afford, access or advocate for care
and, as they age, experience worse outcomes from a range of chronic
diseases. COVID-19 has compounded these health inequities across
generations of Black Americans."
COVID Crisis Puts Blacks at Greater Risk
The CEOs believe that political action can better the state of
the Black community's social determinants of health -- unfair and
avoidable conditions the World Health Organization cites as
mostly responsible for health inequities -- and remove systemic
barriers to racial equity.
This year, Easterseals established its Black Child Fund,
supporting philanthropic giving to close gaps in childcare,
education and healthcare equity that have widened in the pandemic.
It also introduced a new advocacy program, All In, to guide
employer progress on equity in the workplace, where lower wages
contribute to health insecurity for workers with disabilities.
Biden and Harris campaigned on pledges to advance affordable
health insurance, quality care and a less complex system that
ensures healthcare rights. Biden's Nov.
7 victory speech made a callout to equity issues: "We
must make the promise of the country real for everybody -- no
matter their race, their ethnicity, their faith, their identity or
their disability."
Williams was joined in signing the open letter by Tracey D. Brown, CEO of the American Diabetes
Association; Linda Goler Blount,
president and CEO of the Black Women's Health Imperative; and
Stacey D. Stewart, president and CEO
of the March of Dimes.
About Easterseals
Easterseals has served as an indispensable resource for
individuals with disabilities, veterans, seniors and their families
for more than 100 years. Together, its 67 affiliates in communities
nationwide serve 1.5 million people annually through high-quality
programs, including autism services, early intervention, workforce
development and adult day services. Driven by its purpose to change
the way the world defines and views disability, Easterseals makes
profound, positive differences in people's lives every day. Learn
more at easterseals.com.
For more information contact:
Kelley Quinn
Purpose Brand
kquinn@purposebrand.com
(773) 879-3809
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SOURCE Easterseals