Kim Keck, president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association has penned down her thoughts on disparities in healthcare delivery that the US has been facing. In her blog, she has listed how Blue Cross and Blue Shield is toiling to bridge the care delivery gap among different communities in the country. She writes that one’s health shouldn’t depend on the color of skin or the neighborhood she/he lives in.
- 1. Disproportionate burden
- Keck writes that “communities of color”, accounting for nearly 40% of the US population, bear a “disproportionate burden of preventable disease, disability, and death”. Health disparities are the result of “a complex fabric of social, racial, and economic injustice—a fabric we can’t unravel overnight,” she writes. She has mentioned that the Blues are taking immediate and ongoing action to put an end to these inequities, “setting bold goals and holding ourselves accountable to tangible results”.
- 2. Health equity strategy
- The BCBSA has launched a National Health Equity Strategy to reimagine a more equitable system of health. Keck writes this is a multiyear effort to address the nation’s “unconscionable and unacceptable racial health disparities that have afflicted generations of Americans”. This strategy builds on the pledge all Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies made last year to lead the essential work to fight systemic racism, she writes.
- 3. Women of color at risk
- Citing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the blog says that women of color—specifically Black and Indigenous women—are three times more likely to die from pregnancy complications than their white counterparts. “In fact, the US is the most dangerous developed country to have a baby,” she writes.
- 4. Preventive steps
- BCBS is serving the situations by identifying women at risk and providing one-on-one coaching to manage their chronic conditions during pregnancy. They are also offering “prescriptions” for healthy food delivery and nutrition counseling, and addressing underlying social determinants that have a significant impact on health.
- 5. Need for lasting change
- Keck writes: “To address racial health disparities in a meaningful way, we must bring more people to the table to create lasting change. That’s why we have convened a national advisory panel of distinguished doctors, public health experts, and community leaders to guide this work. With their counsel, we’ll be focusing on specific efforts to build a more equitable future”.