Dear Closing the Health Gap Community:

May is Mental Health Awareness Month—a time to reflect, educate, and take action. At the Center for Closing the Health Gap, we recognize that mental health is just as vital as physical health. Yet too often, it’s overlooked—especially in the Black community. African Americans are 20% more likely to experience mental health challenges, yet significantly less likely to seek treatment due to stigma, access issues, and cultural barriers.

This month, let’s change the conversation. Mental wellness is not a weakness—it’s a strength. Together, we can break the silence, encourage honest dialogue, and connect one another to the support and resources we all deserve. Let’s continue to build a network of care, compassion and healing. We Must Save Us!

Blessings for a safe and healthy week ahead!

Renee Mahaffey Harris

President & CEO

RFK Jr. is gutting minority health offices across HHS that are key to reducing health disparities

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s overhaul of the Department of Health and Human Services involves deep cuts to several divisions that help protect and improve the health of minority and underserved populations and eliminate health disparities in the U.S., CNBC has learned. Kennedy, the Health and Human Services secretary, has gutted at least seven minority health offices across the department, according to people familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity to speak freely. HHS has laid off a significant share of workers at those offices, or in some cases all of them, along with their directors, the people said.

The affected units include the HHS Office of Minority Health and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, or NIMHD. The cuts also hit offices with similar functions at the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, according to the people.

Health policy experts told CNBC that deep cuts to those divisions could widen existing health disparities in the U.S., undoing years of progress toward addressing them. Over time, that could worsen health outcomes for already underserved groups, threaten overall public health, strain the U.S. health-care system and drive up health-care costs.

Red Cross is working to address health disparities affecting diverse communities

As part of its mission to alleviate suffering, the American Red Cross of Utah is working to empower individuals with lifesaving information and to bridge existing health gaps. For more than 140 years, people from all backgrounds have rallied together to help those in need. Today, these efforts include providing blood to help ensure patients receive lifesaving care; supporting hyper-local health partners to better withstand disasters and increase their capacity in communities with chronic disaster risks and socioeconomic challenges.

• The need for blood is constant. Maintaining a reliable blood supply is essential for all patients, especially those with chronic and acute conditions in underserved communities.
• For example, according to the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health, patients with sickle cell disease have less access to comprehensive team care than people with other genetic disorders like cystic fibrosis.
• Yet people with sickle cell disease can require a lifetime of blood transfusions to treat this inherited blood disorder, which affects over 100,000 people in the U.S. — most of whom are of African, Latino and Mediterranean descent.
• While groundbreaking gene therapies give hope for those with sickle cell disease, patients accessing these treatments often need ongoing blood transfusions for months to help maintain stable hemoglobin levels and to prevent life-threatening complications.

US Mortality High & Strongly Linked to Wealth

In the United States, there has been a massive transfer of wealth from the middle class to the wealthy in the past 60 years, which has increased wealth inequality.

Other high-income countries have seen concurrent growth in wealth inequality, but these have been less pronounced than in the United States. Life expectancy in the United States is also lower than in other high-income countries, and it is decreasing. These are of key concern, particularly because increases in mortality are most pronounced among the poorest people.

NMA Statement on Congressional Policymakers’ Proposals to Slash Medicaid

Republican lawmakers are considering two new proposals to decrease federal matching funds that support state Medicaid expansion populations and force severe work reporting requirements that would lead to substantial coverage losses. The estimates for the number of avoidable deaths that could result from the proposals to cut Medicaid include roughly 34,200 deaths annually if Congress reduces the federal matching rate (FMAP) for Medicaid expansion enrollees, and about 15,400 deaths annually if Congress imposes federal work reporting requirements on expansion enrollees.

The National Medical Association (NMA) believes that the federal budget must not come at the expense of the health and economic security of those who rely on Medicaid. Millions of individuals and families depend on this vital service for essential health care services. Medicaid is more than just a safety net—it is a lifeline that supports the well-being of children, older adults, people with disabilities, and low-income families across the country. Additionally, it helps ensure access to healthcare services, prevents financial hardship due to medical costs, and supports the overall health and well-being of vulnerable populations.