Better Medicare Alliance Statement on Racial Disparities and Violence

Washington, D.C. – Better Medicare Alliance (BMA), the leading research and advocacy organization supporting Medicare Advantage, responded today to recent events of racial hatred, violence, and brutality:

“Better Medicare Alliance’s community of Allies and beneficiary advocates is as diverse as the Medicare Advantage population itself. Today many within our community find themselves grieving senseless violence and longstanding racial disparities that have been brought to the forefront amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the events of the last week,” said Better Medicare Alliance President and CEO Allyson Y. Schwartz. “We share the outrage and the grief expressed by communities across the nation. We commit to listening and partnering with you for meaningful change.”

Schwartz continued, “While our focus at Better Medicare Alliance is on health care, particularly for older Americans and those with disabilities, we will not turn away from hard truths about the inequities that minority communities face in every sphere. As we continue efforts to call out and remedy racial disparities in health care, we also stand with peaceful demonstrators from every background and political affiliation who raise their voices to call for overdue reforms to ensure a more just and equal society.”

Resources for Further Reading:

• Better Medicare Alliance issues report on racial, ethnic disparities in health care (press release, 12-11-19)
• “Racial inequality persists in health care, but this insurance plan is narrowing the gap” (MarketWatch op-Ed with Daniel Dawes, Morehouse School of Medicine, 1-21-20)
• “Racial divide of coronavirus is real, so are innovations that can help” (Birmingham Times op-Ed with Dr. Martha Dawson, National Black Nurses Association, 5-20-20)