It has become clear that there are substantial racial disparities in health care in the United States.
Racial disparities exist especially in use of preventive services.
Of the 18,000 Medicare enrollees studied, eight percent were African-American and eleven percent were enrolled in managed care. Overall, 65.8 percent received influenza vaccination. Thus while managed care did increase vaccination rates, an unexplained racial disparity persists. Those who did not receive vaccinations were asked why, and cited the same reasons in similar proportions regardless of race.