A new Commonwealth Fund report finds that racial and ethnic health disparities exist in every state — and warns that recent federal policy changes are likely to deepen them.
The Commonwealth Fund 2026 State Health Disparities Report offers a comprehensive analysis of the way health care systems are functioning for people in every state. It evaluates differences in health and health care across racial and ethnic groups both within and between states and points to factors that may be contributing to these gaps.
The disparities associated with race and ethnicity are persistent and widespread, affecting the health of millions of people in every state. But differences among states demonstrate that states can take action to close the gaps. The report, part of the Commonwealth Fund’s ongoing series examining state health system performance across a variety of areas, draws on the most recent data available using 24 measures to evaluate health care access, quality, use of services, and health outcomes for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI), American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN), Black, Hispanic, and white populations.