Healthy People 2010 is a decade-long initiative which established an ambitious set of goals in November 2000 to improve the health of all Americans, and the report details how the country did.
Progress has been made on a number of counts: Life expectancy at birth went up a year from 76.8 years in 2000 to 77.8 years in 2007. Rates of death from coronary heart disease, stroke and other illness decreased over the course of the decade. Nonetheless, health disparities remain a major problem.
The total number of adults age 18 and older with a source of ongoing care was down to 84 percent in 2008; Blacks and Hispanics saw 2 and 3 percentage point drops during that same time period, down to 81 and 69 percent coverage, respectively. Adults with earnings below the federal poverty level ($10,890 for an individual) and the nearly poor—those with incomes up to twice that level -- each dropped 4 points to the lowest coverage rates of all populations.
Rates for children, on the other hand, showed improvement between 1998 and 2008, especially among minority populations. Coverage of Hispanic children rose 3 percentage points but remained at 90 percent in 2008. The rate for ongoing care among black children went up 3 points and became even with that of the general population at 94 percent.
Meanwhile, the number of people who had a usual primary care provider dropped 1 percentage point between 1996 and 2007 to 76 percent overall; it also dropped one point to 73 percent among blacks. Hispanics saw a 1 point increase, although the group’s access was still the lowest of all groups, reaching just 65 percent.
HHS officials expect access to care to dramatically improve in coming years with the implementation of the 2010 health law, which has already yielded a significant increase in coverage for young adults under age 26 who can now stay on their parents' plans.
Source: Kaiser Health News,” Disparities Cloud Health Improvements In Past Decade”, October 6, 2011.