Racial and Ethnic Inequalities in Health

The population is aging in both the developed and developing world, and the United States is no exception. It is well established that Americans are living longer. US life expectancy at birth increased from 70.8 in 1970 to 78.7 in 2010. For those aged 65, remaining life expectancy rose from 15.2 years to 19.1 years over the same time period. Perhaps most importantly, and the focus of this chapter, as the nation grows older it is rapidly becoming more racially and ethnically diverse. Currently, there is less racial/ethnic diversity in the population 65 and older than among younger Americans. However, the older population is expected to be 42% minority by 2050 (US Census Bureau, 2011). The dual trends of increased life expectancy and the growing diversity of the aging population raise important theoretical and practical questions about race-based inequalities in health and their consequences for health care spending in light of projected deficits in Medicare.