Black Residents Are More Likely To Die Early In NJ From Treatable Diseases: Report Finds

NEW JERSEY — Black people living in New Jersey are more than twice as likely to die early from conditions that are treatable than white people, a new study finds.

The Commonwealth Fund's study "Scorecard on State Health System Performance" released last week shines a light on the racial and ethnic inequality in the healthcare system in New Jersey and across the country.

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The study comes at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has already highlighted these racial disparities among African Americans and Latinos, who are more likely to die from the virus and less likely to get vaccinated.

Overall the study evaluates health equity across race and ethnicity, both within and between states, to illuminate how state health systems perform for Black, white, Latinx/Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN), and Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) populations.

Looking at New Jersey, the study found that the Garden State's healthcare system was among the top 10 in the country for Asian Americans and Whites. The scorecard gave the New Jersey healthcare system a 94 for treating Asian Americans and 90 for Whites out of 100, while the score for Latinos and Blacks was much less with 47 and 42 respectively.

Mortality rates also did not favor Blacks in New Jersey. The study found 140.7 Black people died per 100,000 residents in the state from conditions that are treatable, such as diabetes, with timely access to high-quality health care.

Asian Americans had the lowest mortality rate in New Jersey with 37 deaths per 100,000 residents.

Breast cancer is another example of a treatable disease when detected early but is more likely to be diagnosed at later stages in Black women. As a result, more Black women die from breast cancer than other races in New Jersey.

The mortality rate in breast cancer in New Jersey for Black women is 27.8 per 100,000 female population versus 21.6 in White women, 12.1 in Latina women, and 10.7 in Asian American women.

A key factor to these statistics is a lack of comprehensive insurance coverage or any coverage at all in nonwhite populations, according to the study.

The study found Black residents are more likely to forgo health insurance due to costs while Latinos are less likely to have a primary care provider.

"Many people of color in the U.S. are also less likely to have a usual source of care, an important point of contact with the health system that can help people get treatment when they need it. Lack of a regular care provider often goes hand in hand with high uninsured rates and high patient cost sharing," according to the study.

Overall, New Jersey is not alone in these disparities. There were only six states that provided above-average health care for all races and ethnicities— those included Massachusetts, Connecticut, Hawaii, New York, Rhode Island, Oregon, according to the study.

"Racial and ethnic equity in health care should be a top priority of federal and state policymakers," according to the study. "A good start would be to identify policies and proposed legislation that impede progress toward health equity."

To view the full study click here.

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