Stark Racial Disparities in Health Persist Across States, New Report Finds

May 1, 2024

Deep-seated racial and ethnic disparities in health care access, quality, and outcomes persist across all US states, a new Commonwealth Fund report finds. Part of the Fund's ongoing series examining state health system performance, Advancing Racial Equity in U.S. Health Care: The Commonwealth Fund 2024 State Health Disparities Report evaluates states on 25 measures of health care access, quality, service use, and health outcomes for Black, white, Hispanic, American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN), and Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) populations.

Among the key findings:

• The healthcare divide is especially stark when it comes to premature deaths: American Indian and Black people die from preventable and treatable causes at substantially higher rates than other groups.
• Disparities exist even in states that are otherwise considered high-performing in health care.
• Health care experiences for people of color vary widely across states. For example, health systems in South Dakota, North Dakota, and Alaska perform worst for American Indian people, while North Carolina's health system performs best.

Find out where your state ranks and how we can achieve more equitable healthcare systems in each state.