Watch Rep. Kuster’s line of questioning here.

Hopkinton, NH – Yesterday, Rep. Annie Kuster (NH-02) participated in a virtual Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on inequality in America’s health care system. During the hearing titled, “Health Care Inequality: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 and the Health Care System,” Kuster and her committee colleagues heard from Dr. Rhea Boyd of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation; Dr. Oliver T. Brooks, President of the National Medical Association; and Avik S. A. Roy, President of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity.

“We know that the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted communities of color. But the truth of the matter is that this began long before COVID-19, and systemic racism has been a public health crisis in this country since its founding,” said Kuster. “In New Hampshire, the proportion of COVID-19 cases continues to grow in communities of color. I am hopeful that this conversation is one of many future hearings on our Committee’s continued work in addressing racial health inequities and social justice.”

As an Energy and Commerce Committee and Black Maternal Health Caucus member, Kuster has explored and supported policy solutions on the racial disparities in maternal health. In 2019, she reintroduced the bipartisan Humane Correctional Health Care Act to repeal the Medicaid Inmate Exclusion that strips justice-involved individuals of health care to address the health disparities among America’s incarcerated population. 

Watch Rep. Kuster’s line of questioning here.

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