The Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust recently released the 2015 Kelly Report on Health Disparities in America, an official congressional analysis of the state of African American health in the United States. It offers a blueprint for reversing negative health trends in communities of color.
The report notes that:
- Cancer rates among African Americans are 10 percent higher than white Americans.
- Blacks are nearly twice as likely to have diabetes than whites.
- African Americans are six times more likely than whites to be victims of homicide.
- While blacks account for just 13 percent of the total U.S. population, they account for nearly one-half of all new HIV infections.
- African Americans make up more than one-third of all U.S. patients receiving dialysis for kidney failure.
The Kelly Report brings together members of Congress, medical professionals and public health thought leaders to examine the root causes and impact of health disparities in America and provide a comprehensive set of legislative and policy recommendations to address them. Compiled by Rep. Robin Kelly, PhD, who chairs the CBC Health Braintrust, the report is a call to action for Congress to make improving health outcomes in diverse communities a top priority.
Contributors to the report include Congressional Black Caucus Chair G.K. Butterfield, National Urban League President & CEO Marc H. Morial, former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, PhD, and Department of Health and Human Services Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health J. Nadine Gracia, MD.
Rep. Kelly was the keynote speaker at the 2015 AMA Minority Affairs Section Annual Meeting.
