Racial Disparities Played Down (Report on Health Care Differs From Draft )

[Pale Blue Dot]

A federal report on racial disparities in health care was revised at the behest of top administration officials -- and a comparison with an earlier draft shows that the version released in December played down the imbalances and was less critical of the lack of equality.

Government officials acknowledged and defended the changes yesterday, even as critics charged that the Department of Health and Human Services rewrote what was to be a scientific road map for change to put a positive spin on a public health crisis: Minorities receive less care, and less high-quality care, than whites, across a broad range of diseases.

The earlier draft of the report's executive summary, for example, described in detail the problems faced by minorities and the societal costs of the disparities, and it called such gaps "national problems."

The final report's executive summary interspersed examples of disparities with success stories and emphasized the role of geography and socioeconomic factors -- rather than just race -- in producing different outcomes. It dropped the reference to "national problems."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14542-2004Jan13.html

Remember everyone, "The idea is not to say, 'We failed, we failed, we failed,' but to say, 'We improved, we improved, we improved.' " (actual quote from the article)

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. Once Bush is out of office, we're going to have to redo every

study that was rubber-stamped by his office. He has a major credibility problem when it comes to the public health, safety and welfare of the community.

[yo-yo-ma]

2. from the 9/11 air quality

to global warming, to condoms and even evolution, this is an administration that does not believe in science.

[newyawker99]

3. Hi yo-yo-ma!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast: