Satcher Talks About Minority Health Needs
Surgeon General David Satcher Monday called for "continued funding" of minority health research, as well as increased detection and "aggressive treatment" for minorities, saying that providing them with "equal access to health care will help ensure the 'survival of our nation,'" the Houston Chronicle reports. During a tour of several Houston medical facilities, Satcher said that the new National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center should continue to receive government support. He said that "[s]tudies in the past" had shown that doctors may be less likely to recommend certain treatments for black men. The Chronicle reports that blacks "have the highest incidence rates for cancers of the lung, colon and rectum. Satcher was accompanied during his tour by Rep. Sheila Jackson (D-Texas) whose father died of prostate cancer. Jackson said that she has requested $50,000 in the federal budget be allocated for a local satellite prostate-screening clinic. "[T]he time for describing" health disparities "is over," Satcher said, adding, "What are we going to do about it? That is the issue" (Zuiga, Houston Chronicle, 5/1).
This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.