Despite evidence of racism’s impact, Minnesotans disagree on how it affects health

Eagan, Minn. (March 2, 2021) - Less than one year after Minnesota was the epicenter of a worldwide racial justice movement, 42% of Minnesotans still say racism is not a significant problem. Meanwhile, for communities directly experiencing racism (Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian Pacific Islanders, and other communities of color), almost 80% say racism is a significant problem, according to findings from a recent poll conducted by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross).

“In terms of racial equity, 2020 was a watershed moment for our state, our country and the world,” said Dr. Craig Samitt, president and CEO of Blue Cross. “These poll findings are sobering but also serve to galvanize our own commitment to advance racial and health equity. We are also calling on businesses and individuals – particularly those of us who represent mainstream culture – to shift away from a ‘none-of-my-business’ mindset and instead make racism and its impact on health everyone’s business.”

Racism as a public health crisis

In 2020, Blue Cross joined local organizations, municipal and county governments, and the Minnesota House of Representatives in declaring that racism is a public health crisis. The statewide resolution failed in the Senate, highlighting that legislators do not see eye-to-eye on this issue – along with most Minnesotans.

While nearly two-thirds (64%) of Black, Indigenous and people of color in Minnesota say racism is a public health crisis, a majority of white Minnesotans (57%) disagree.

“The reality is that racism is fatal – plain and simple,” said Vayong Moua, director of racial and health equity advocacy at Blue Cross. “Racial and health inequities exist because people don’t have equitable access to things like health care, healthy food or a safe place to live. This lack of access impacts health and is rooted in structural racism, which has taken a damaging toll on the health of our state for generations.”

Learning, reflecting, changing

To help individuals and businesses on their journey toward anti-racism, Blue Cross has created online tools and resources with actionable steps to take to address structural racism and health inequities. Businesses can learn, reflect, and make meaningful changes in areas such as:

• Diversity, equity and inclusion
• Representation and why it matters
• Equitable policies and practices

Similarly, individuals can learn and reflect on ways to take action in areas such as:

• Bias
• How racism shows up every day
• Why we should we talk about racism – not race

The site also includes short animated videos offering simple definitions for key terms such as structural racism, white privilege and the Black Lives Matter movement. More video content will be added in the coming months.

“Conversations on equity, racial justice and white supremacy can be challenging, especially when we don’t have a shared understanding of the language needed for those difficult conversations,” said Moua. “We’re hoping this information provides a basic foundation for advancing meaningful conversation, reflection and action toward systemic change.”

How Blue Cross and partners are making race and health equity their business

To address racial and health inequities and encourage others to do the same, it is critical to start from within – a mindset and approach Blue Cross has maintained throughout its advocacy for more equitable policies and systems. These efforts include:

• Our long-term commitments to advancing health equity and racial justice through statewide community funding. In the last three years alone, the Center for Prevention has provided more than $27 million in funding across the state, and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation has granted nearly $14 million to support Minnesota communities
• Changing the mainstream narrative on health and shaping the next generation of BIPOC journalists through our award-winning partnership with ThreeSixty Journalism
• Working with Greater Minnesota communities like Willmar to address barriers to health faced by an increasingly diverse population. Our five-year Healthy Together Willmar initiative provided $2 million in funding and on-the-ground support to ensure all community members had access to what they needed to achieve their best possible health
• Partnering with TPT to provide BIPOC communities with information about the COVID-19 vaccine
• Committing $5 million to the University of Minnesota to establish the Center for Antiracism Research for Health Equity, which will develop evidence-based, antiracist research to understand and measure the impact of racism on health
• Partnering with and funding the BIPOC-led, community-based organization Voices for Racial Justice to organize and lead a racial and health equity policy coalition. This cross-cultural coalition will advocate for and influence policies to impact racial and health equity at the local, regional, and state levels
• Becoming the first Minnesota health plan to create a Gender Services Consultant position, committed to supporting inclusive and equitable care and service to transgender and non-binary members

Blue Cross is also proud to partner with Minnesota providers who have made strong commitments to racial and health equity, such as Allina Health.

“We all have a responsibility to acknowledge and address racial and health inequities in order to give all Minnesotans the opportunity to live their healthiest possible lives,” said Dr. Penny Wheeler, chief executive officer at Allina Health. “We must be intolerant of inequity in all forms, and each one of us has an obligation to take action to help eliminate systemic racism and improve the health of our communities.”

Allina Health has committed to efforts like collecting comprehensive race and ethnicity data to track inequitable health outcomes, as well as partnering with Blue Cross to create a shared commitment to advancing racial and health equity. This is just one example of ways that business leaders can prioritize this work and make meaningful change.

More information about Blue Cross’ efforts to advance racial and health equity can be found by visiting bluecrossmn.com/healthequity.