Health Equity Panel for ALC 2016
Walter E. Washington Convention Center
Thursday, September 15, 2016
2:00PM – 4:00PM, Room 147A
A series of provocative conversations among doctors, social scientists, legislators, activists, and lawyers about new ways to achieve justice for African Americans so that we have an equal opportunity to pursue life, health, and well-being. Health requires equality in health care, housing, food security, employment, education, built environment, and personal safety. Each panelist will address ways to tackle inequality in these areas, using law, policy, data, and clinical strategies. We will discuss what everyone in Black communities can and must do to achieve health equity.
While the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has improved access to health care, the care Black patient access remains inferior to whites, and thus health disparities remain doggedly persistent. This panel will explore the reasons health inequality pervades our system, causing Blacks to die quicker and live sicker than any other population in America. This panel will feature the introduction of Dr. Thomas LaVeist’s newest initiative, “The Black Men’s Health Challenge.” In addition, Mr. Daniel Dawes, an expert on the Affordable Care Act who was “in the room” when the law was written, will address the need for continued reform including Medicaid expansion in the remaining 19 states, coverage for the remaining uninsured, and insurance marketplace reforms. Dr. Brian Smedley, the nation’s leading expert on public health equity and renowned leader of the IOM’s landmark study, Unequal Treatment, will address social, economic, and environmental causes of racial and ethnic health inequities. Professor Dayna Matthew will discuss improving Black Americans’ health by using civil rights laws to combat the unconscious racism that plagues the American medical care system, as well as systems that control education, employment, the environment, food distribution and law enforcement in our nation. (Read more)
