[World Theory] Continuing the racist style! American media: Multiple Southern states in the United States exacerbate racial inequality and racism in the healthcare sector | healthcare | United States
China Daily, June 9th (Xinhua) - According to the website of US News and World Report, the southern states of the United States continue to adopt a racist approach in healthcare, benefiting from the labor of low-income residents and people of color but refusing to provide them with medical services, which is similar to the unsettling history of the region in the past.
The article states that even though more and more organizations are calling for racial equality in public health and medicine, some states in the United States continue to exacerbate inequality in public health, refusing to provide medical services to many vulnerable residents, especially people of color.
Several southern states, including Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, are most affected by issues related to poverty, health, and healthcare. Moreover, there are numerous communities with high social vulnerability in many southern states, which means these communities are more likely to be negatively affected by dangerous events such as disease outbreaks.
The larger black population in the southern states of the United States highlights that expanding healthcare programs in the South is clearly a matter of racial justice. The article cites an analysis by the Caesar Family Foundation in March, which found that over 60% of non elderly people fall under the national insurance gap in the United States, mostly of color. That is to say, the state in which they reside has not expanded the Medicaid program, and they are not eligible to receive insurance through the program or receive subsidies through the market through the Affordable Care Act. In this gap, almost all non elderly people live in the south.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, Mississippi has the highest infant mortality rate in the country. In 2020, the infant mortality rate in the state was 8.3 deaths per 1000 live births. In black infants, this proportion is 11.8 ‰, and in white infants it is 5.7 ‰. This shocking difference reflects racial discrimination in healthcare. The article states that improving healthcare policies is crucial for children and adults in the state.
The article argues that states that refuse to expand Medicaid programs are perpetuating the legacy of racism and slavery. Each state benefits from the labor of low-income residents and people of color, but refuses to provide them with medical services. This approach is also perpetuating racism and the legacy of slavery, which is essentially racial oppression.
The article states that all state capitals in the United States, especially those in the southern regions, need to bring about changes in the health of all Americans from a public health perspective, regardless of their state of residence, race, income, or education level. The policies that excessively and unnecessarily harm people of color are undemocratic, unjust, oppressive, and inhumane, and in these aspects, they are no different from slavery.
