Cost, access still barriers to medical care for Black Ohio women

A recent study recommended increases in Medicaid eligibility and other legislative measures to help improve health care outcomes and access for Black women in Ohio, while still spotlighting fears of discrimination among women seeking care.

The survey and analysis from Policy Matters Ohio found a vast majority of women have a primary care doctor, but many had concerns about the costs of testing and medication, along with concerns about feeling comfortable with a medical provider.

Based on data collected between January and June of this year from more than 500 Black women in Ohio, the study found 47.7% of women surveyed “reported feeling discriminated against based on race,” and 40% of participants “had concerns about finding a medical provider that their family felt comfortable visiting.”

Specific statements from those taking the survey described the health care system as “frustrating” with women saying they felt it necessary to advocate for themselves, especially when the care “wasn’t designed to consider the needs of Black people.”

“My care isn’t designed based on my genetic makeup,” one woman wrote, according to the study. “But rather compared to my Caucasian (white) counterparts.”

Another woman reported having trouble finding Black female doctors, and an apathy toward “pain levels and my preference for non-invasive procedures and non-use of synthetic medicines.”

When it came to affording health care, 38% reported finding the costs too high, and more than half experienced stress due to medical debt.

“Among the reasons for this perception, respondents reported high co-pays, increased out-of-pocket expenses and high medication costs,” the report stated, adding that the high cost “is itself a barrier to better health for Black Ohioans, especially for Black women.”

One way researchers from Policy Matters found that access could improve would be expanding the state’s Medicaid program and eligibility to 300% of the federal poverty level for pregnant women, something that was seen in Gov. Mike DeWine’s executive budget proposal in 2023, but didn’t make it to the final budget document.

With discrimination still an issue for women in the Policy Matters report, bringing further awareness to racism as a public health crisis, something that Ohioans have suggested to the legislature for years, was recommended as part of Ohio’s path to improved outcomes.

“Color-blind health care does not benefit our health care systems, because it erases the unique needs of individual populations,” the report stated.

The report also noted one piece of legislation in particular, House Bill 7, that could “help to address specific areas of need, like maternal mortality rates for Black women.”

The bipartisan-sponsored bill, which has been passed by the Ohio House but is still being considered by the Ohio Senate, would send $8 million over two years to the Healthy Beginnings at Home program for “stable housing initiatives” for pregnant mothers, along with further funding for services like pregnancy and parenting education programs, “early intervention services” for infants, early childhood mental health services and even doula services for inmates in state prisons.

The bill had its fourth hearing in the Senate Finance Committee on May 21, and hasn’t seen activity since. It would need to be taken up before the end of the year to be passed in this General Assembly’s term. If the bill isn’t taken up by December, sponsors would need to re-introduced the measure in the new year with the start of a new General Assembly.

This story was originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal