Statewide, Iowa – A new report finds racial disparities persist across Iowa’s health care system.
The non-profit Commonwealth Fund found white Iowans ranked in the 82nd percentile nationally for healthcare outcomes, while black and Hispanic Iowans ranked in the 18th and 19th percentiles respectably.
Jess Maksut (MACK-suit), the fund’s director of health equity research, says recent federal policy changes to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act are expected to drive up racial gaps in healthcare.
Laurie Zephyrin (ZEF-rin), a senior vice president at the Commonwealth Fund, says the number of black, Hispanic, American Indian, and Alaska Native communities who are uninsured is expected to greatly increase in the next decade unless policy changes are made.
She says other recommendations include expanding the availability of health care workers, and strengthening pipelines to create a diverse health care workforce.
KIWA Staff Photo
