New efforts are attacking the gap. As part of last year's health care law, the Department of Health and Human Services put forth a plan in April to better understand and find solutions to health disparities. One element: expand data collected on hospital admissions to include the race, ethnicity and language of patients. "Health disparities are often driven by the social conditions in which individuals live, work and play," according to the action plan.
In May, the department announced $100 million in community grants for programs that promote healthier lifestyles among groups that experience more chronic illness.
Separately, the CDC is targeting health problems that occur more frequently in African Americans, Hispanics and other minorities through a program called REACH (Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health) that steers grants to local organizations.
