April is National Minority Health Month, which acknowledges the serious disparities people of color face when receiving healthcare. Wisconsin has serious racial health disparities that must be acknowledged and addressed by government officials.
In the 2021 Wisconsin Population Health and Equity Report Card created by the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institution, Wisconsin received a grade of D for its overall racial health disparity.
According to UWPHI’s report card, the overall mortality rate for Wisconsinites was 720 deaths per 100,000 people, but for Black Wisconsinites in particular, this rate jumps to 1,016 deaths per 100,000. Additionally, while 12.8% of Wisconsinites report fair or poor health on average, 23.5% of Wisconsinites who specifically identify as Black report fair or poor health.
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In Wisconsin there is a long history of racial discrimination — not just in the healthcare field — that is to blame for these disparities. For Black Wisconsinites in particular, desegregation of schools only happened 44 years ago, and unfair housing practices still keep Black Wisconsinites segregated from white Wisconsinites.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, these discriminatory practices continue to affect not only Black Wisconsinites but all Wisconsinites of color to this day. The state and local governments are responsible for correcting these wrongs, particularly because the government perpetuated — and partially still perpetuates — this history of racial discrimination.
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The government and Wisconsin as a whole are not doing enough to reverse these health disparities. The Wisconsin of Health Services does have a Minority Health Program aimed at reducing the health disparities along racial lines, but one program is not enough. Local governments and the state Legislature need to work together to write actual legislation and fix broken healthcare systems that disadvantage people of color in this state.
A big change that the Wisconsin Department of Health Services is working on fixing is culturally and linguistically appropriate health services. According to the Department of Human and Health Services, these services aim to lower disparities in health by providing people with services that are custom-tailored to their cultural and linguistic preferences. This way, communication between people and their health providers can be more efficient, promoting better care.
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But ensuring that racial health disparities diminish is more than just fixing the healthcare field and systems — it is providing safe and affordable housing, providing financial assistance if people need it and ensuring people have access to affordable, healthy food and the internet.
All of these other instances of racial inequality result in major health disparities in Wisconsin. There are hundreds of changes the government must make to reduce these disparities.
Wisconsin’s ‘D’ grade for racial health disparity is because there needs to be a more comprehensive push toward addressing these disparities, not just from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, but from all government agencies across the state of Wisconsin. All Wisconsinites deserve to live their healthiest lives — and that calls for major progressive policy changes.
Emily Otten ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in journalism.
