To: Project RACE Members:

It started on March 5, when Aetna announced they would collect racial and ethnic data from its members. Aetna is a provider of health, dental, life, disability, and long-term care insurance. Aetna will also collect racial and ethnic data on its network of participating physicians. Spokespersons for Aetna say the collection of such data will reduce the risks associated with racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare.

What population is more in need of health data than the multiracial population? We have no idea of the health risks to our children because "biracial," "multiracial," or even "check all that apply" have not been options on health forms in this country. I know that hypertension and diabetes are more prevalent in my husband's racial population than in other populations, but we know nothing about the health status of our children because they have never been included in studies. Or if they were included, it was as a single-race person. Just think how a company as big as Aetna could help us!

A few days after the announcement, I sent this e-mail to Aetna's "Office of Diversity":

Regarding Aetna's press release of March 5 announcing initiatives to collect racial and ethnic data of its membership, please explain how the race and ethnicity questions will be structured. If your members are instructed to choose from a list of racial and ethnic classifications, what are those classifications and how will the question(s) be worded. Thank you in advance for your timely response.

When I got no response from them, I e-mailed the Vice-President of Corporate Public Relations. Again, no answer. I e-mailed him again on March 22. This was his reply on March 23:

Thanks for your note. I was under the impression a colleague of mine was going to get back to you weeks ago. I apologize for the delay. Let me check on it.

That was several weeks ago. I have not heard back from them since then. How long could it take to check on this?! The bigger question is this: if the multiracial community can't trust Aetna to give us basic information on their race and ethnicity questions , can we trust them to use their information in a positive way? Why is Aetna hiding from us on this issue?

There are pros and cons to the question of Aetna's collection of racial data. The pro is that better medical information will result in better medical treatment of minorities. The con is that when insurance companies collect such data, it will enable them to make it difficult for certain minority individuals to get coverage. Let's face it, this is a self-interest issue for Aetna. This is big business, and they are in business to save money.

Either way, if they do not allow multiracial members to fully and completely self-identify their racial and ethnic heritages, we lose. If better medical information is, indeed, the goal of Aetna's collecting this data, then they should be very interested in full and complete data. It's called accuracy. Without it, the multiracial community will not gain a thing. On the other hand, if they are going to discriminate using inaccurate information, everyone loses.

This is the statement of Aetna's Diversity Department:

"Diversity is a brand imperative that helps to bring Aetna's health and related benefits to the attention of the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. population - the African-American and Hispanic/Latino markets, as well as the Asian market."

And this from their "Mission Statement":

"We will deliver on Aetna's brand promise by valuing and respecting the strengths and differences among our employees, customers and communities because they reflect our continued future success. Our customers, suppliers and strategic partners are increasingly diverse and multicultural."

"Brand imperative" is a marketing term that means "what we want our customers to think of us." It's the factor that conveys an image. So, it's not that Aetna's diversity team necessarily believes that diversity is important, it's that they want to convey that image to its members. Hmmmmm. And given that, isn't the multiracial community important to the "image" of diversity that Aetna wishes to convey?

Perhaps it's that Aetna's diversity team doesn't understand our need for an end to the disparities in healthcare. We've invited them to get to know us, and they ignored the invitation. It's not as though they don't get race altogether. The National Medical Association (NMA) represent the "collective interests of physicians and patients of African descent" applauded Aetna's efforts to collect racial information. Did I mention that the Aetna Foundation gives sizable contributions to the NMA?

Aetna Chairman and CEO John W. Rowe, M.D., said. "Reducing the gap in health care among minority populations is one of the most obvious targets for health care improvement in the United States." Rowe just needs to enhance and enlarge his definition of "minority populations." We can help him, if his "diversity" and "public relations" staffs would just give us the chance.

Until the multiracial population is recognized by Aetna, I hope you will join me in telling your employers you don't want them to buy Aetna products; asking your physicians not to provide services to Aetna; and talking to your extended families of every race and ethnicity, and encouraging them to challenge Aetna representatives to include us or lose our business. Take action. It's what Project RACE does.

Susan Graham
Executive Director