Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy
Document Type
Article
Abstract
In early 2020, as the nation was just becoming familiar with COVID-19, over a million nursing facility residents were already experiencing crisis-level disasters. Extreme lockdowns, increased hospitalizations, and high mortality rates plagued nursing facilities earlier and far worse than the rest of the population. Data gradually showed that facilities with higher numbers of residents of color were facing particularly dire outcomes.
Although the severity of COVID-19 was surprising, the pandemic highlighted existing and long-standing problems with the country’s long-term care facilities. Many of the problems that led to the horrible disparities during COVID-19 are rooted in a wholly insufficient long-term care system that fails to provide quality, equitable, and dignified care to the increasing number of older adults needing such care.
This article will show how the largest public insurance programs – Medicare and Medicaid- were designed without consideration for meaningful and equitable long-term care coverage. The limitations in the Medicare and Medicaid statutes furthered many of the racial disparities experienced among older adults of color when trying to access long-term care either in the community or in facilities. Lastly, this article will provide equity-centered solutions focused on improving both the quality of nursing facilities and the overall long-term care infrastructure.
Recommended Citation
Gelila Selassie,
What Went Wrong? Identifying the Historical Roots of Racial Disparities Among Older Adults in Nursing Facilities,
18
St. Louis U. J. Health L. & Pol'y
(2025).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.slu.edu/jhlp/vol18/iss2/7