Sen. Bernie Sanders has claimed that Americans from minority groups are facing a “health crisis” due to the lack of non-White doctors in the country. Apparently white doctors suddenly lose all competence when taking care of non-white patients in the eyes of Sanders.
The Vermont Senator and chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee called for a greater proportion of Black, Latino and Native American doctors, arguing that it would improve “health outcomes” for such groups.
“They’re more likely to receive preventative services; they’re more satisfied with their care; and they’re more likely to live longer and happier lives [when cared for by a doctor of their race],” Sen. Sanders claimed. He added that the average life expectancy for Black Americans was five years lower than White Americans, falsely implying that this is due to racism.
The reasoning is bizarre, and Sanders clearly never asked himself the obvious question that if there’s some sort of implicit bias in the medical industry, wouldn’t that also mean non-white doctors treat white people differently, which results in worse outcomes for them? Sanders only cares about racism (and in this case, alleged racism) in one direction, of course.
Sanders received widespread criticism for his remarks, with some calling out his “racist” comments, which seem to have been his focus in recent months given previous representations on the subject.
Nevertheless, it is hard to argue with the criticism leveraged towards the 82-year-old politician. Medical professionals have a greater sense of liability than most other professions, and so it is critical that the best doctors – regardless of skin color – are employed across the nation.
