[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 78 (Friday, May 23, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S7122]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        EQUALITY IN HEALTH CARE

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I speak for a moment on the issue of 
equality in health care and what I have personally been able to 
observe, which we as a body have tried to address--in fact, have taken 
some major steps forward--but which stands as a major challenge which I 
believe we can address in this body. That is the subject of health care 
disparities.
  In the 21st century, Americans are among the healthiest, the longest 
living, and robust citizens in the history of the world. We have 
conquered diseases that were once untreatable. Our remarkable 
scientists continue to develop new drugs, therapies, treatments, and 
procedures that every day are bringing new hope and, indeed, saving the 
lives of millions around the country and millions around the world. We 
have much of which to be proud.
  At the same time, there is something we should be ashamed of because 
despite the dazzling medical and social progress of the last century, 
there remains wide health disparities and inequalities between minority 
and nonminority citizens. I will cite a few examples. Infant mortality 
rates are twice as high among African Americans versus Whites. The 
prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Latino populations is four times higher. And 
the prevalence of AIDS among African Americans is nine times higher 
than among Whites. African-American children are twice as likely to 
have asthma. They are six times more likely to die from asthma than 
others. And mortality rates related to diabetes are more than twice as 
high among African Americans and Native Americans.
  The question is, why? We have made progress in understanding why, but 
we cannot answer that question, Why? Even when we control our access to 
medical services and we control for other socioeconomic factors, 
Americans from minority backgrounds still receive unequal care. They 
suffer lower quality care and, consequently, worse health outcomes. 
That is the challenge. The response to that challenge is we can 
eliminate that. We can reverse these health care disparities.

  Progress has been made in recent years to close the health gap 
between minority and White patients. We are boosting Federal research 
into the cause of health disparities. We are identifying barriers to 
care in our communities. We are expanding the number of health 
professionals who have a strong commitment to the needs of minority and 
underserved patients. Much more, however, needs to be done.
  That is why I am proposing the Health Care Gap Act of 2003. This 
legislation, which I plan to introduce later this year, builds on 
successful prior legislation to ultimately eliminate such disparities 
in health care. This legislation will address key areas necessary to 
close the health care gap in America. These include expanding access to 
quality health care, improving national leadership and coordination, 
increasing the diversity of health professionals, promoting more 
aggressive professional education, promoting research to identify 
sources of racial and ethnic disparities, identifying promising 
interventions, and improving and expanding programs to prevent, too 
manage, and to treat diseases and conditions that disproportionately 
impact minority and underserved populations. As I mentioned in the data 
I quoted, these include asthma, they include HIV/AIDS, prostate cancer, 
and other types of cancer.
  Last weekend, I have the privilege, as so many Members--in fact, many 
Members departed an hour or so ago to deliver commencement speeches at 
high schools, elementary schools, secondary schools, colleges, and 
graduate schools all over the country.
  I had the privilege last week of speaking at two commencement 
ceremonies. One was for the School of Medicine at Morehouse College in 
Atlanta, and also the George Washington School of Medicine here in the 
Washington area. In my address, I challenged these hard-working and 
young people--our future doctors, our future health professionals, our 
scientists--to become active, to actively shape and mold our 
profession. I told them that in this day and time in the field of 
medicine, we simply can no longer, as health professionals, solely 
practice medicine. They must lead in medicine. The same is true of us.
  This bill on health care disparities, this legislation which will be 
introduced later this year, will do just that. In the Senate, we must 
help to create a medical system that treats all patients equitably. Our 
national creed, that all are created equal, dictates that we must.

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