New Aetna Study Finds African Americans and Hispanics Use Emergency Room for Asthma Incidents More Often Than Whites

Aetna leaders will present the findings of a new study today at the Academy for Health Equity Conference in Littleton, Colorado. The study looked at the differences in the use of the emergency room (ER) by minority populations suffering from asthma and the potential to improve health outcomes and cost savings by addressing disparities in asthma ER visits. Results of the research showed that African American members had significantly higher rates of potentially avoidable ER visits than whites. African American adults and children had nearly three times the annualized ER visits per 1,000 for asthma compared to whites. This led to significantly higher costs due to potentially avoidable ER visits for both children and adult members with asthma.

Similarly, the study's results indicated that Hispanic members had higher rates of potentially avoidable adverse events than Whites, though not as high as those for African American members with asthma. Hispanic adults and children had nearly twice the annualized ER visits per 1,000 for asthma compared to whites. As with African Americans, this higher ER visit rate was associated with higher ER costs.

"While preventing asthma occurrences that lead to ER visits certainly makes economic sense, more importantly, controlling asthma and keeping the condition 'in check' can greatly improve the lives of the people who are afflicted," said Wayne Rawlins, M.D., M.B.A., national medical director, racial and ethnic equality initiatives at Aetna.

"Our study results showed the high level of unequal care, as well as the tremendous amount of waste in the health care system," noted Rawlins. "Preventing visits to the ER for asthma patients can improve health care quality and decrease medical costs. If we can find ways to make sure that members with asthma have what they need to follow their recommended treatment plans, many of the visits to the ER for this condition could be avoided," he added. Asthma is a potentially life-threatening respiratory condition that affects more than 22 million people in the United States.

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