Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | June 26, 2023 | Worcester Business Journal 25 Health inequities are a $6B economic problem V I E W P O I N T E D I T O R I A L H ealth care is a point of pride in Massachusetts. e industry is a major driver of our economy, accounting for about one in every five jobs. We have major academic medical centers and a world-class biotech base pushing the boundaries of medicine. Our state led the way on health reform, providing near-uni- versal coverage while inspiring the Affordable Care Act, improving access for the nation. Progress on these fronts was never easy but made possible because of a sense of shared responsibility that permeated the partnerships necessary to get the job done. at sense was present again on June 13 at the inaugural Health Equity Trends Summit in Boston, a diverse convening of hundreds ranging from hospital CEOs to social workers. ose present were committed to – or perhaps recommitting to – addressing the vexing problem of health disparities and racial inequities persisting in health care. Despite years of national research and local studies, we have made some progress around the margins but we are nowhere near where we want to be. A new data point put it bluntly: e economic burden due to health inequities experienced by communities of color total nearly $6 billion a year in Massachusetts. At the summit I shared the story of Dudley Flood, an educator and administrator tasked with desegregating schools in North Carolina in the late 1960s – some 15 years aer the passage of Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark civil rights case supposed to put an end to such racial segregation. e unflappable Flood said when faced with any dilemma, we should ask ourselves three questions: What? So what? Now what? e first question we have been asking ourselves for a long time: What is causing racial disparities and inequi- ties in health? While the answers are complex, we now recognize the underlying problem: structural racism permeates nearly every aspect of our society, including the healthcare system. e second question – so what? – has been answered strongly, time and again. People of color are not afforded the same opportunities to live healthy lives, and as a result they are sicker and dying younger. While that moral imperative may move us, it is not moving us fast or far enough. at is why we added another response – the economic imperative – to the so what question. We now better understand how racial inequities in health are a major burden on the economy. Now what? Flood said the key to achieving desegre- gation in North Carolina's schools was helping people learn how to work together. We know how to do that in Massachusetts. Our history of working together on health reform gives me hope we can do so again. We can harness that same political will, innovation, energy, and persistence to right these wrongs. Audrey Shelto is president and CEO of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to ensure equitable access to health care for those who are economically, racially, culturally, or socially marginalized. BY AUDREY SHELTO Special to WBJ A T H O U SA N D WO R D S B Y R A M Ó N L . S A N D O V A L We're not out of the woods yet Audrey Shelto Heading into 2023, WBJ readers were more pessimistic about the future of the economy than at any point since at least 2012, according to the results of our annual end-of-year Economic Forecast Survey, where 37% of respondents said the local economy would slightly or significantly decrease this year. For the updated Mid Year Economic Survey taken for this edition (see the results starting on page 10), that number climbed to 48%. is increasing pessimism was reflected in the most recent Massachusetts Business Confidence Index, a poll produced by Associated Industries of Massachusetts. e index, which takes a monthly measure of how local business leaders feel about the economy, in May scored 49.6, on its 0-100 scale where anything above 50 is considered optimistic. e Central Massachusetts version of that number was barely above the line at 50.3. While the weather is a little better in our region than the state as a whole, it's still a pretty cloudy forecast. While these figures of business sentiment don't instill much confidence, individual businesses still seem fairly confident about their own prospects. In WBJ's Mid Year Economic Survey, the overwhelming majority of our readers said their companies' performance met or exceeded expectations, with their main issue finding enough new workers to fill open positions. With statewide unemployment now below 3% for the first time in 2023, it's clear the labor market remains incredibly strong. If companies are able to find the right people and reach their desired operational levels, their confidence will rise and optimism about the overall local economy should rebound. e good news is the recessionary downturn many have been dreading still has not come to pass. While it's still a possibility a significant slowdown may happen, each day moves us closer to a turn to strong economic growth. e resilience of our regional economy has been impressive, and the cloudy forecasts can only go on for so long. The above Editorial is the opinion of the WBJ Editorial Board. The Viewpoint column, the A Thousand Words cartoon, and the Word from the Web commentary represent the opinions of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of WBJ or its staff. WBJ welcomes letters to the editor and commentary submissions. Send them to bkane@wbjournal.com. W F or a couple of years, we've been worrying about a possible recession, as conflicting economic indicators have been pointing to a possible slowdown in the economy. Still, despite the many headwinds - like the war in Ukraine and a steep rise in interest rates – unemployment remains incredibly low, and businesses are still hiring as they look to fill key positions and meet persistent demand. W

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