GALVESTON — Dr. Ben Raimer, a Galveston pediatrician and a leader at the University of Texas Medical Branch’s office of health care policy and legislative affairs, has been named chairman of the Texas Health Disparities Task Force by Gov. Rick Perry.
The announcement was made Tuesday from Austin. Raimer’s term, which began Aug. 26, will expire Feb. 1, 2011.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” Raimer said. “It’s an opportunity for all the members on the Health Disparities Task Force to really make a major contribution to the overall health of our state.”
Raimer, 62, a longtime Galveston resident, will commute to Austin for meetings with task force members with expertise in areas of health outcomes and health disparities. The task force’s assignment is to research and recommend ways to close the gap in access to health care among special or underserved populations in Texas.
“The No. 1 thing we are about is basically improving the coordination and focus to reduce health disparities,” Raimer said. “If someone has a higher death rate from an illness, we want to know why that is; what are the differences that make that happen.”
Among the issues Raimer hopes to see on the task force’s table are obesity and diabetes, including the high population of Texas children who are overweight, and access to health insurance.
As an example, Raimer noted the disparity in death rates among non-Hispanic white diabetics compared to African-American diabetics in Texas; rates are double for that population.
“What are the issues there and what can we do differently to improve the overall survival rate and quality of life for those individuals?” he asked. “I think this task force has a huge challenge to look at all the factors that affect people’s health and see if there are some things we can do to improve the health status of specific populations.”
The Health Disparities Task Force was created in 2001 and issues reports to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, the governor and the Texas Legislature. The governor, the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the House appoint nine members serving two-year terms. The governor designates the presiding chair.
