States Address Health Disparities

The differences in health status and health care that exist across groups are expensive both in human and financial terms.  Disparities exist in many areas.  Minority communities often lack health insurance, access to healthy foods and adequate places to exercise. The incidence of high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke and kidney disease, is nearly 40 percent greater in African Americans than in non-Hispanic whites.  In 2007, 32.1 percent of the Hispanic population was not covered by health insurance, compared to 10.4 percent of the non-Hispanic white population.