Benefits: one size does not fit all - health benefits and minorities

Business & Health, May, 1997 by Janet Gemignani

Like partner coverage, most benefits geared to minority groups do not break the corporate budget. Indeed, creative benefits managers say that sensitivity to the needs of their workforce often saves money, increases productivity and stems turnover in the long run.

THE DIFFERENCE RACE AND ETHNICITY MAKE
A survey of a nationally representative sample of more than
3,700 African-American, Hispanic, Asian-American and white
adults points to the need to understand the health care
problems minorities face.

                                                 % of
                                    % of         non-Hispanic
                                    minorities   whites
Barriers                            reporting    reporting

Lack of health insurance            31%          14%

Having to pay too much              40           26
for medical care

Don't have a regular provider       24           20

Have no choice in where             29           16
they get health care

Wait too long to seek medical       27           16
care

Language problems                   21           n/a

Difficulty getting medical          15           8
appointment

Didn't get preventive care          29           26
services in past year (blood
pressure check, Pap smear,
cholesterol reading)

Source: National Comparative Survey of Minority Health Care,
The Commonwealth Fund, New York, March 1995.

As a whole, Asians make fewer trips to the doctor than other ethnic groups, according to research done by the Commonwealth Fund; they, too, may fail to see the merit in preventive measures such as mammography. The Abacus guide notes that Asians tend to be stoic about pain and cautions employers that someone of this ethnic group who is injured on the job may say he or she is fine even when that's not the case.

African-Americans, the largest ethnic group with 33 million in this country, have many problems relating to health. For one thing, their median income is low: just $22,393 in 1995. It was considerably lower--just $10,380--for black households headed by women, as more than half of those in the' U.S. are. For the first time on record, African-American households dropped below a 30 percent poverty rate in 1995.

Blacks are at greater risk than their white counterparts for hypertension. What's more, cultural factors--including poor eating habits-put African-Americans who were born in the South and moved to New York City at greater risk of cardiovascular disease than those who were born in the North, according to a researcher at New York's Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

While employers can use these findings to decide which screening tool and health programs to promote, it's crucial to avoid singling out a specific group. Making assumptions about the health of employees from a particular country or background, consultants say, could trigger ADA violations.