National Medical Association Appalled Over Distorted HHS Disparities Report

1/22/2004

From: Reese Stone or Alisa Mosley, 202-347-1895; both of the National Medical Association

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 -- The National Medical Association (NMA), which represents over 25,000 African American physicians and is "the conscience of American medicine," is appalled that science and research affecting the lives of the nation's racial and ethnic minorities has been politicized in a recent report on health disparities released by the Department of Health and Human Services.

The report, issued on Dec. 22 by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), was a congressionally mandated follow up to a highly critical study released in 2002 by the Institute of Medicine. The landmark study, entitled Unequal Treatment, cited serious healthcare inequities in the treatment of racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S. A draft of the HHS report supported the findings of the IOM study, describing health inequities as a national, pervasive problem. However, the final HHS report on disparities included none of the language that highlighted those conclusions.

"The timing of the report's release on the eve of the Christmas holiday was reason enough to be skeptical," said Randall W. Maxey, M.D., president of the National Medical Association. "However, the executive summary of the report turned out to be even more disturbing as HHS chose to ignore the conclusions of its own scientists by issuing a report that in essence sugarcoated the inequities that were clearly cited in the draft submitted by AHRQ.

The differences between the draft and the final HHS report became evident through an investigative study by the minority staff of the Committee on Govern-ment Reform chaired by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA). Committee members, in-cluding Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) of the Congressional Black Caucus, found that the original draft report had been altered and "politically sanitized." The Committee pointed out that the report minimized the usage of the word disparity, eliminated the conclusion that healthcare disparities are national problems, eliminated the findings on the social cost of disparities - in favor of a discussion focused on successes. It failed to give one example of a healthcare disparity.

In June 2002, Congressional members wrote to HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson noting their concerns that the Department appeared to blatantly ignore the recommendation of the Institute of Medicine. As an example, they cited the FY 2003 budget in which HHS proposed the elimination of the Health Career Opportunity program and the Minority Faculty Fellowships program, among others, despite the IOM's strong recommendation to "increase the proportion of under-represented US racial and ethnic minority health professionals."

It appears that HHS is attempting to portray America's healthcare glass as half-full, a term used by an administration spokesman who maintained that HHS chose to deliver the report in a positive light. "In our view, to even characterize the glass as half-empty would be an overstatement of the facts. In truth, the glass is unwashed and broken." stated Dr. Maxey.

The NMA strongly urges Secretary Thompson to revisit the presentation of the National Healthcare Disparities Report and heed the advice of his own scientific staff, which in fact echoed the IOM's conclusion -- that the pervasiveness of health care disparities is overwhelming, and continues to warrant critical attention. The NMA is asking Secretary Tommy Thompson to meet with them to discuss the presentation and content of the disparities report.