Institutional Racism in US Health Care

INSTITUTIONAL RACISM AND RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN THE U.S. HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
Racial Discrimination in Health Care in the United States as a Violation Of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, [a1] 14 University of Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy 45-91 (Fall, 2002)

Compounding the racial discrimination experienced generally is the institutional racism in health care that affects minority access to health care and the quality of health care received.(59) Despite efforts over the past thirty *54 years to eliminate discrimination and reduce racial segregation, there has been little change in the quality of, or access to, health care for many minorities. According to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, "Despite the existence of civil rights legislation equal treatment and equal access are not a reality for racial/ethnic minorities and women in the current climate of the health care industry. Many barriers limit both the quality of health care and utilization for these groups, including ... discrimination."(60) Racial discrimination in health care delivery, financing, and research continues to exist, and racial barriers to quality health care manifest themselves in a number of ways.