What Is Health Disparities?

Health disparities refer to differences in the health status of different groups of people. Read more.

*Health information sourced from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. co-pay.com is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.

Per a court order, HHS is required to restore this website as of February 14, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. Any information on this page promoting gender ideology is extremely inaccurate, and disconnected from the immutable biological reality that there are two sexes, male and female. The Trump Administration rejects gender ideology and condemns the harms it causes to children, by promoting their chemical and surgical mutilation, and to women, by depriving them of their dignity, safety, well-being, and opportunities. This page does not reflect biological reality and therefore the Administration and this Department rejects it.

Health disparities are health differences between different groups of people. These health differences may include:

  • How many people get certain diseases
  • How severe the diseases are
  • How many people have complications because of the diseases
  • How many people die from a disease
  • Whether people can get health care
  • How many people get screened for a disease

These groups of people may be based on:

  • Race
  • Ethnicity
  • Immigrant status
  • Disability
  • Sex or gender
  • Sexual orientation
  • Geography
  • Income
  • Level of education

NIH: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities

Get the facts on Health Disparities.

Sign up for our newsletter to get expert tips on condition management and prescription savings.