The health gap
22 01 08 - 11:23
On Long Island, money and race affect medical care and outcomes
January 22, 2008
When the subject is the health of Long Islanders and their access to medical care, it's no surprise that the fault lines are money and race.
People on the Island generally do better than those nationally when it comes to the incidence of chronic diseases, insurance coverage and access to medical care - good news driven by the relative well-being of affluent, white residents. But the picture is a lot less rosy for Hispanics, noncitizens, immigrants, blacks, the uninsured and lower income residents. They report a greater incidence of chronic health problems, more difficulty getting care and a real squeeze when it comes time to pay.
That's what was revealed by a comprehensive survey conducted by researchers from Adelphi University. Among Long Islanders aged 18 to 64, only 10 percent reported being without health insurance, much better than the 22 percent nationally. But the rate of people without insurance on Long Island is significantly higher for Hispanics, blacks, immigrants and those in households with incomes of less than $40,000.
Fourteen percent of Long Islanders were stretched so thin financially that they reported pill-splitting, skipping some doses of medications or not bothering to fill prescriptions at all.
So, what to do? There are plans for an action conference in the spring to develop an agenda. Some preliminary objectives were suggested by Arthur Gianelli, president of Nassau University Medical Center, and Michael Dowling, president of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System. They include pursuing ways to reduce the cost of prescription drugs at NUMC clinics, to enroll more children in the state Child Health Plus insurance program, to improve outreach in underserved communities, and to hire more interpreters to help non-English speakers navigate the health care maze.
Those objectives make sense, but this is an area that could do with some creative, out-of-the-box thinking. Narrowing deadly health disparities won't be easy or quick. But the commitment of academics and providers on Long Island is, we hope, a vital sign of better things to come.