Segregated hospitals are killing Black people. Data from the pandemic proves it.

We see these effects in health care, too. Poor neighborhoods have proportionately more people who are uninsured or insured by Medicaid, which has payment rates that are often too low to cover the costs of care. People tend to seek health care near home. As a result, hospitals that are located in poorer neighborhoods have less to work with, and often lack the resources needed to provide optimal health care. In effect, doctors and hospitals in the United States are paid less to take care of Black patients than they are paid to take care of White patients. When we talk about structural racism in health care, this is part of what we mean.