African Americans nearly 4 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19: data

WASHINGTON -- Among people with Medicare, African Americans were nearly four times more likely than white Americans to be hospitalized with COVID-19, according to federal data released on Monday.

African Americans with Medicare, a national health insurance program, made up 465 coronavirus hospitalizations per 100,000 enrollees, data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) showed.

That is nearly four times the rate for whites, which was 123 per 100,000 enrollees, according to The Associated Press.

The rate for Hispanics stood at 258 hospitalizations per 100,000, about twice the rate of whites, while Asians were about one-and-a-half times more likely than whites to be hospitalized for COVID-19, the data showed.

"It reconfirms long-standing issues around disparities and vulnerable populations," said Medicare administrator Seema Verma. "Race and ethnicity are far from the only story."

More than 325,000 people on Medicare were diagnosed with COVID-19 between Jan 1 and May 16, and 110,000 people on Medicare were hospitalized with a COVID-19 diagnosis this year through May 16, according to the data.

Medicare payments for fee-for-service hospitalizations totaled $1.9 billion, with an average cost of $23,094 per hospitalization, the CMS said.

Medicare has 60 million enrollees across the United States, most of whom are aged 65 or older. Also covered are younger people who qualify because of disabilities.