Major health disparities among enrollees in employer-sponsored chronic diseases, maternal health, behavioral health, substance use and health care services, a new study from Morgan Health reveals Report established.
Morgan Health A business unit of JPMorgan Chase. It commissioned the report from NORC at the University of Chicago, an independent social research organization. It analyzed three nationally representative public surveys: the 2019 National Health Interview Survey (12,372 respondents), the 2017-March 2020 National Health and Nutrition Survey (3,103 respondents), and the 2019 National Health and Nutrition Survey (3,103 respondents). National Survey on Drug Use and Health (14,580 respondents). It also checked birth certificates recorded in the 2020 Birth Vital Statistics Registry.
Despite employer-sponsored insurance, many enrollees have unmet social needs, exacerbating disparities in health outcomes, the report found. Overall, 7.7 percent of enrollees are food insecure, with households not having access to enough food due to cost or other reasons. The differences became more pronounced after controlling for age and gender across races. Food insecurity rates for black and Hispanic enrollees were 9.8 and 6 percentage points higher, respectively, than white enrollees.
Morgan Health CEO Dan Mendelson Press Releases“The business community has a responsibility to understand and acknowledge these disparities and, more importantly, to take action to eliminate them. This will require active collaboration with health plans and providers to close disparities and improve health outcomes.”
chronic
People with chronic conditions vary by race, the report found. Black enrollees had the highest percentage of hypertensive patients at 60.4 percent, compared with 40.7 percent of Asian enrollees, 44.2 percent of Hispanic enrollees, and 46 percent of white enrollees.
After adjusting for age and sex, black enrollees were 16.7 percentage points more likely than white enrollees to have high blood pressure, and 15.7 percentage points more likely to have uncontrolled hypertension, the report said.
Participants with diabetes also varied by race, with 13.4% of black participants, 13.3% of Hispanic participants, 14.1% of Asian participants, and 8.8% of white participants. Asian, Hispanic and Black registrants had a 3 percentage point higher rate of undiagnosed diabetes than white registrants.
For all participants, 42.8% were classified as obese, but as with other chronic diseases, the findings varied by race. Black and Hispanic participants had the highest obesity rates, 56.2 percent and 46.4 percent, respectively, compared with 43 percent and 16.2 percent for white and Asian participants, respectively.
cesarean section
Cesarean section reduces maternal morbidity and mortality in high-risk deliveries. But they increase the risk of infection and blood clots, and cause postpartum complications — including death — in low-risk deliveries.
For low-risk births, 20.1% of black participants had a C-section, compared with 17.7% of Asian participants, 17% of Hispanic participants, and 13.6% of white participants.
After adjusting for age and sex, black, Asian, and Hispanic participants were 6.5, 3.9, and 3.4 percentage points more likely to have a C-section than white participants, respectively, in the context of low-risk births.
Behavioral Health and Substance Use
The report found that white participants were more likely to have behavioral health and substance use problems than black, Hispanic and Asian participants. About 10 percent of white participants experienced severe psychological distress, compared with 8.4 percent of black participants, 9.1 percent of Hispanic participants, and 6.1 percent of Asian participants. White enrollees were also more likely to experience anxiety and depression.
When visiting mental health providers, after adjusting for age and sex, white enrollees were 4.8 percentage points more likely than black enrollees to do so, and 5 percentage points more likely than Hispanic and Asian enrollees.
Lesbian, gay, or bisexual enrollees had greater differences in mental health, with psychological stress 12.1 percentage points higher and anxiety 16.6 percentage points higher than the average enrollee after adjusting for age and bisexuality , depression was 18.4 percentage points higher. gender.
For substance use, Hispanic registrants were found to have the highest heavy alcohol use, while white registrants had the highest drug use. Lesbian, gay and bisexual participants also had significantly higher alcohol and drug use than heterosexual participants.
get care
Even with employer-sponsored coverage, enrollees of racial/ethnic minority backgrounds and lower incomes have more difficulty accessing care, the report found.
Families earning less than $50,000 a year were about 6 times more likely to skip health care and prescription drugs because of cost, compared to households earning more than $150,000 a year. Households earning less than $50,000 a year were also seven times more likely to have trouble paying their bills than those earning $150,000 or more.
Additionally, while nearly all enrollees had a typical source of care, some used the emergency department more frequently. After adjusting for age and sex, black participants were 4.9 percentage points more likely to visit the ED than white participants. Asian enrollees were 4.3 percentage points less likely to see a doctor than white enrollees.
Photo: Michail_Petrov-96, Getty Images
