The military health system has fewer racial and ethnic disparities than the U.S. civilian health care system, but inequality still exists among Black mothers and some other minority groups, according to an advisory board.
A draft report by the Defense Health Board found the military health system largely provides more equal treatment across races and ethnicities for a range of conditions like pregnancy and birth, mental health and surgeries. Still, for those who do not fare as well, the Pentagon should act to make improvements, the board said.
In places where gaps do exist, they are smaller than in the general population. Yet there are some notable areas where care could be improved for all patients, according to the draft report, intended for the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs.
Read Next: Republican Bill with Massive Boost to Junior Enlisted Pay Sparks Veto Threat from Biden
“Black female beneficiaries and their infants experience worse [maternity and birth outcomes] than white beneficiaries in the MHS,” or military health system, according to the report.
A higher infant mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black military beneficiaries, differences in cesarean delivery, ICU admission and severe complications, especially higher rates of premature births for Black parents, “needs urgent assessment and action in the military health system,” the report found.
Black mothers and their babies who are treated in…
