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This week

Editor's note

This week, we are focusing on a question that affects millions of Black families: why does the American healthcare system consistently underestimate Black patients' pain? From obstetric complications dismissed as exaggerated to sickle cell crises undertreated in emergency rooms, the data on pain bias in medicine are now overwhelming. Our lead story this week reports the research in depth and speaks to the Black clinicians building the evidence base to change it. If this reporting matters to you, share it and sign up for our newsletter below.

From our editor, Simone Abara, May 12, 2026

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Black LGBTQ+ Health

Black LGBTQ+ people face the sharpest within-Black health disparities in the United States. Black men who have sex with men …

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Black women in the United States face the widest maternal mortality gap in the high-income world. In 2023, the Black …

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Black men develop heart failure at a median age of 39, two decades before white peers, per the CARDIA cohort …

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Kids and Teens

Approximately 1 in 365 Black or African American babies is born with sickle cell disease, and about 1 in 13 …

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Black seniors are Medicare-enrolled at similar rates to white seniors but receive less hospice, more intensive end-of-life procedures, and fewer …

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Chronic Disease

1 in 365

Black American births inherit sickle cell disease, making it the most common genetic disease in the Black community

Updated April 1, 2026

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2.4M

Black Americans fell into the Medicaid coverage gap in states that have not expanded, losing access to subsidized coverage

Updated March 30, 2026

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3.3×

Black women die from pregnancy-related causes at 3.3 times the rate of white women

Updated March 15, 2026

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Active Federal

H.R. 3888

PFAS Clean Water Act

Environmental justice research consistently shows Black and low-income communities bear disproportionate PFAS exposure. A 2021 Nature Communications study …

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H.R. 567

Medicaid Work Requirements Bill

Black adults have lower rates of employer-sponsored insurance and higher Medicaid enrollment rates relative to white adults. In …

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H.R. 2234

Momnibus Act 2025

Black women die in childbirth at 3.3 times the rate of white women in the United States (CDC …

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Kidney / Renal

3×

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive loss of kidney function, defined as eGFR …

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COPD

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Higher

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a preventable and treatable chronic lung disease characterized …

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Endometriosis

Reproductive / Maternal

~5 years

Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory condition in which tissue similar to the endometrium (uterine …

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G6PD Deficiency

Genetic

12%

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is the most common inherited enzyme disorder in the world, …

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Glaucoma

Vision

3×

Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases characterized by progressive damage to the optic …

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56%

Hypertension is a chronic condition in which the force of blood against artery walls …

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