WASHINGTON – Blacks were nearly four times more likely than whites to be hospitalized with COVID-19 among people with Medicare, the government said Monday.
The analysis from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also found that having advanced kidney disease was an even more severe risk indicator for hospitalization than race, ethnicity, or being poor.“It reconfirms long-standing issues around disparities and vulnerable populations,” said Medicare administrator Seema Verma, adding that "race and ethnicity are far from the only story.''Medicare's analysis confirms what The Associated Press and other media organizations have previously reported about African Americans and Latinos bearing the brunt of the pandemic, while.