COUNT US IN
THE HEALTH CARE DISPARITY
THE GAP IN HEALTH CARE QUALITY IS DANGEROUS, ESPECIALLY FOR BIPOC WOMEN. BY JESS BUGG ILLUSTRATIONS BY JESSICA WETTERER
700 According to the CDC, 700 women in the United States die each year from pregnancy-related complications. BIPOC women are at two to three times greater risk than white women. Several factors contribute to this imbalance: lack of quality health care, structural racism, implicit bias as well as underlying medical conditions often resulting from the three previous factors. It is estimated that about half of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable.
80% Last year, Fortune Magazine estimated that women control more than 80% of health care spending in the United States. They spend more on health care both on an individual level and as the primary caretakers of their families. Women now represent the majority of medical school students yet are rarely represented in leadership positions, accounting for only 3% of chief medical officers and 6% of department chairs.
20 | AUSTIN WOMAN | FEBRUARY 2022
