American Notes Health

Advances in medicine have bestowed longer and healthier lives on many Americans. But a disturbing study from the Department of Health and Human Services finds that death still comes sooner for blacks and some other minorities than it does for whites. According to the study, of the approximately 60,000 "excess deaths" reported among blacks each year, 18,181 were attributed to heart disease and stroke, 8,118 to cancer, 6,178 to infant mortality, 2,154 to cirrhosis and 1,850 to diabetes.

Outgoing HHS Secretary Margaret Heckler said that "knowledge and life- style" factors such as smoking, alcohol, diet and obesity accounted for much of the health gap. A startling 10,909 excess deaths resulted from homicide or accidents, which Heckler deemed a health matter because more than half were related to alcohol or drug abuse. Ohio's Democratic Congressman Louis Stokes criticized the study, arguing that it failed to point out that "Reagan budget cuts have had a major impact on the health of minorities." Although Heckler proposed no new remedies, she set aside a $3 million monitoring fund to ensure that minorities get their fair share of public- health money.