COVID-19 deaths in long-term care facilities account for one-third of the nation’s death toll – even though only five percent of the cases have occurred in these facilities. In addition to hitting long-term care facilities the hardest, COVID-19 also highlighted racial and ethnic disparities within these care settings. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that evidence suggests some racial and ethnic minority groups were disproportionately affected by COVID-19, and that long-standing systemic health and social inequities have put many people from these groups at increased risk of getting sick and dying from COVID. In the care system setting, the authors explore why Black Americans are disproportionately more likely to rely on nursing home care. The article also highlights that Black individuals are also cared for in facilities that are often for-profit, serve a primarily Medicaid population, have lower levels of nurse staff, and have lower resident outcomes.
Source/more: Center for Medicare Advocacy