Researchers have long been aware that health outcomes are broadly worse for black Americans than for white Americans.

Modern science has laid to rest the myth that race makes bodies of people of different races very different from one another.

But that doesn't mean health care systems or other important institutions treat everyone the same.

From KERA in Dallas, this is think. I'm Chris Boyd.

A big part of the problem comes down to who receives quality health care in a timely manner,

early enough to catch and treat potentially serious illnesses, comprehensive enough to manage chronic disease.

As my guest will tell us, the question of access is often about money,

and there are still states like South Carolina that have chosen not to take the federal government up on its offer to help expand

state access to Medicaid. Raina Ryasem is senior correspondent at KFF Health News, where she and her

co-author Fred Clayson Kelly published the article, Black Americans still suffer worse health.

Here's why there's so little progress. Rainica, welcome to think.

Thanks for having me. You center this article around a region of South Carolina that has

sometimes been referred to as the corridor of shame. What does that name refer to? Well, that name

actually originally came from the lack of investment in rural schools in south

carolina so it was directly related to education and lack of investment um but over time it just

also became um a reference to poor health outcomes and poor outcome outcomes generally in this area

and it's it's an area that has um just historically not had the levels of investment as the

wealthier parts of the state.

And, and you can, and you can see that.

Although poverty and black poverty in particular are unusually concentrated there in

that place called the Corridor of shame. A lot of the lessons from

the region could apply to other parts of the country. Absolutely. So, you know, we undertook this

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