PBJ How Oregon Works: Views From a Health Care Lawyer: How Oregon Doesn’t Work for Minorities

Health care regulatory attorney Kelly Knivila contributed an article to Portland Business Journal’s 2020 How Oregon Works series titled “Views from a health care lawyer: How Oregon doesn’t work for minorities,” published July 6, 2020. In the article, Knivila discusses reasons behind the disparity in health care outcomes for different races in Oregon.

Knivila points to racism as the driving force behind socio-economic differences, citing an article by the National Center for Biotechnology Information summarizing several studies that demonstrate that minorities receive lower-quality health care because of implicit bias.

Knivila concludes, “All of us in the health care industry owe it to people of color who live in our state to acknowledge the role that racism plays and to take steps to ensure changes are made so that Oregon works for everyone.”