Health Status of the African American Elderly
Source: Secundy, 1994, p. 56
Minority elders in the United States, particularly those of limited income, are the most vulnerable to the vicissitudes of current health care policy. Their quality of care and access to care are severely compromised. To a large extent, the problems they face are cyclical and feed on one another. For instance, substandard housing and poor nutrition associated with lower economic status contribute to the poor health status. Morbidity and mortality rates remain high for elderly minorities. They make less use of health care, their chronic diseases are greater, payment mechanisms are fewer, availability of high-level acute care and long-term care facilities are more limited, and lifestyles are more problematic.

To a large extent, the poor health status of minority elders is due to their overrepresentation in lower socio-economic groups. For older black women, the poverty rate is close to 55%; for the population at large, it is 12%. Census figures recorded in 1989 indicated that for the age group 65 and older, 30% of blacks were in poverty; analysts note, however, that minority elders (including blacks, Hispanics, and Pacific Asians) are represented in less than 3% of all elderly poverty programs, compared to 10% of elder whites, who consume 97% of those benefits outlays. Clearly, ethnic minorities are receiving lower benefits.

No matter what the economic strata, minorities receive less insurance coverage for health care costs, experience less continuity of coverage, and confront psychological, social, and structural barriers, both perceived and actual.