Prevalence and Patterns of Discrimination among U.S. Health Care Consumers

Abstract

The authors examine the prevalence and patterns of perceived discrimination in the U.S. health care system and examine social status variables as determinants, using data from the Commonwealth Fund's Minority Health Survey. The primary social status groups of interest are age, race, ethnicity, social class, sex, and health status. Each social status category placed respondents at greater risk of perceiving discrimination based on the corresponding source of discrimination. That is, younger respondents were more likely to perceive age discrimination than were older respondents. African Americans and Hispanics perceived more race discrimination than whites. Low-income individuals experienced class discrimination, women experienced sex discrimination, and individuals who reported being in poor health were more likely to perceive discrimination based on health or disability status.