Guest Blog for NheLP: Health Disparities Facing Older Adults of Color amid COVID-19 (August, 24, 2020)

The COVID-19 pandemic poses challenges for nearly all communities across the country. Yet older people of color face even greater burdens with mounting disparities that must be identified and resolved.

As COVID-19 continues to ravage communities of color, data show shocking disparities in outcome based on race and ethnicity. Recent data show significantly higher COVID-19 hospitalizations for Black, Latinx, and American Indian/Alaska Native Medicare beneficiaries. The rates are even higher for people of color who are dually enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid. Racial and ethnic inequities in healthcare are magnified in long term care settings as nursing facilities have seen some of the largest outbreaks of COVID-19 infections and devastating mortality rates. In particular, facilities with predominantly Black and Latinx residents have significantly higher numbers of infections and mortalities compared to facilities with predominantly white residents. Read the full blog.