Michigan’s health care disparities stark for Black residents

Michigan has more severe racial disparities in its health care system than other Great Lakes states, with Black residents experiencing the poorest outcomes, a new national analysis shows.  In a scorecard released Thursday by the Commonwealth Fund, Michigan placed 29th among 39 states examined in overall health care delivered to Black residents. Michigan also had “worse than average” health system performance for white residents compared with other states. In most states, white residents received the best health care. But in Michigan, Asian Americans/Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders experienced the highest health system performance, scoring in the 84th percentile among population groups nationally. Health care for the state’s white residents ranked in the 76th percentile.  The report by the nonprofit research firm assessed data based on 25 indicators of health care performance, including health outcomes, access to health care and quality and use of health care services. While health outcomes and health equity scores for Michigan’s Black residents were among the worst in the country, researchers and state health officials pointed out that disparities across racial and ethnic groups are prevalent nationwide, even among states that performed among the best in the assessment.  “This is not a Michigan issue. This is a problem...