Black health care in America: a political perspective.

Despite recent improvements in the health status of blacks, significant disparities continue to exist between blacks and whites in nearly every health status index. Contributing to these disparities are biases in the health system; economic bias being the most significant. This article assesses the competitive market strategy, the most recent federal initiative to promote equity in the access to health services in terms of the consequences for black health. Several policy actions are recommended to improve the health status of the black population.