The Brady Brief - National Minority Health Awareness Month

Statement

Dear Friend,
Recently, I proudly introduced H.Res. 171, legislation to recognize
April as National Minority Health Awareness Month. This piece of
legislation is extremely important to me because it works to ensure
that there is greater attention paid to the severe health disparities
faced by minorities in the nation.

Though the general health of our nation has improved and people
are living longer, many racial and ethnic minorities in our country
do not enjoy these advances and unfortunately still experience
very unequal levels of access, treatment and overall health.
African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, American Indians and
Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders
experience a very disproportionate level of illness or death as
compared to the U.S. population as a whole.

While the ten leading causes of death for African Americans and
whites are similar, they occur at different rates within each
population. For instance, nationally African Americans experience
significantly higher rates of infant death, heart disease, all
cancers, homicide and HIV/AIDS than whites. Hispanics in the
U.S. are almost twice as likely to die from diabetes as are whites
and account for 20 percent of the new cases of tuberculosis.
Though Asians and Pacific Islanders appear to be one of the
healthiest populations in the U.S., there is great diversity in this
population; Vietnamese women experience cervical cancer at
nearly five times the rate of white women for example. As
Philadelphia is culturally and ethnically diverse, these statistics are
reflective of the health disparities in our city.

The issue of unequal levels of access to quality medical care and
treatment represents a serious reality for minority populations and
I believe Congress must do all in its power to correct this disparity.
As always, I remain committed to ensuring that all Americans have
access to quality, affordable health care, and I will continue my
work on this issue.

Sincerely,

Robert Brady
Member of Congress

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