Brandon G. Wilson speaks at the 2024 Community Catalyst Convening. He is standing at a podium in front of a mic and a laptop. Behind him is a sign that reads, "We believe all people deserve to live a happy, healthy life."
Dr. Brandon G. Wilson, Interim Co-President & CEO of Community Catalyst, speaks at 2024 Community Catalyst Convening.

The Link Between Equity and Outcomes

Rolling back Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies weakens patient care and puts lives at risk. These policies—ranging from workforce recruitment initiatives to community health funding—have been critical in addressing disparities. At a time when the U.S. faces a historic shortage of nurses, primary care providers, and public health professionals, dismantling DEI threatens workforce stability, patient-provider trust, and health outcomes.

By 2025, nearly 130,000 public health professionals are expected to leave their positions due to burnout, underfunding, and feeling undervalued. DEI policies, which help recruit and retain diverse, skilled professionals, are being dismantled just as health care systems struggle with workforce shortages. The loss of these professionals means fewer providers in rural and underserved areas, longer wait times, and worsening health outcomes. Yet public health leaders are facing a growing wave of harassment, from verbal abuse to death threats. 41% report experiencing harassment, while 59% say their expertise has been undermined or dismissed. These politically motivated attacks disproportionately target Black, Hispanic, and immigrant professionals, subjecting them to racist, misogynistic, and xenophobic abuse.

When health care workers and public health leaders leave due to burnout, harassment, or lack of institutional support, it doesn’t just create job vacancies—it leads to delayed diagnoses, increased mortality, and poorer health outcomes for the most vulnerable patients. Eliminating DEI doesn’t just destabilize the workforce—it weakens the quality of care, erodes patient trust, and reduces access for marginalized communities. Taken together, these factors drive up health care costs.

This backlash extends beyond clinical and public health spaces—it is reshaping academic research, medical training, and scientific discourse. Medical schools and research institutions that once funded health equity studies are now freezing grants, distancing themselves from DEI-related initiatives, and discouraging faculty from addressing racism in health care. The chilling effect is real: Black scholars and researchers who have long fought for equity in health systems are being pushed to the margins, their work dismissed or defunded under the guise of political neutrality. Instead of reinforcing protections, policymakers are dismantling DEI—the very policies that create safer workplaces and help ensure health care professionals can serve their communities without fear.

DEI Initiatives Lead to Better Health Outcomes

Dismantling DEI deepens economic and racial health disparities. Black, Hispanic, and rural communities already face higher medical debt and worse health outcomes—gaps that DEI-driven initiatives are designed to close. Without DEI, health care systems become even less responsive to community needs, leading to more untreated conditions, preventable ER visits, and financial instability for families.

Opponents argue that DEI initiatives create unnecessary bureaucracy, but the evidence shows otherwise. Studies demonstrate that DEI-driven interventions, such as patient navigators and culturally competent care models, improve health outcomes while reducing costly disparities. The alternative—ignoring inequities—only shifts the burden to emergency rooms, Medicaid budgets, and overburdened hospitals. The economic cost of inaction is far greater than the investment in DEI policies that promote better care and cost-effective solutions.

Patients are more likely to engage in their care when they feel understood and respected by their providers. A diverse workforce fosters trust and improves health outcomes, particularly for marginalized communities. Studies show that patients receiving culturally competent, person-centered care are more likely to manage chronic conditions, seek preventive care, and report higher satisfaction—leading to lower health care costs. Eliminating DEI weakens these efforts—not just harming workforce diversity, but actively jeopardizing patient care and survival.

Patients are more likely to engage in their care when they feel understood and respected by their providers.

Hospitals that implement DEI-focused workforce initiatives see improved patient adherence, fewer preventable ER visits, and lower readmission rates—reducing overall health care costs. Conversely, as DEI programs are dismantled, marginalized patients experience delayed care, which leads to higher long-term spending for both insurers and government health programs. Research shows that addressing racial disparities in health care could save the U.S. billions of dollars annually by preventing avoidable hospitalizations and chronic disease complications.

DEI Cuts Jeopardize the Future of Medical Research

DEI rollbacks don’t just affect patient care—they threaten the future of medical research and provider training. Programs designed to recruit underrepresented health care providers are being dismantled, and funding for DEI-driven research is being frozen. In higher education, we are seeing a troubling retreat: medical journals are shying away from publishing research on racial health disparities, faculty are being discouraged from including anti-racism frameworks in curricula, and students advocating for health justice are facing administrative pushback. These cuts jeopardize efforts to close health disparities and improve patient outcomes.

Erasing race-conscious health research from academia doesn’t just mean losing data—it means losing life-saving interventions that could improve care for Black and Hispanic communities. This is not new—academic institutions have long deprioritized research led by Black scholars, often questioning its legitimacy while uplifting race-neutral or race-avoidant studies. Now, those who persist in addressing systemic racism in health care face professional consequences, including delayed promotions, loss of funding, and exclusion from key research collaborations. The erasure of DEI from academic and medical research isn’t just a loss of funding—it is an intentional suppression of knowledge that could save lives.

This retreat is not confined to academia—it is mirrored in the private sector, where corporations are also backing away from their commitments. Many institutions that once pledged a commitment to health equity are now retreating under political pressure. But DEI isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity. Health systems, medical schools, and public health organizations must uphold their commitments to equity, ensuring that care is centered on the needs of all communities, not just the most privileged.

The private sector is following a similar playbook. Corporations that once championed diversity in hiring, supplier contracts, and leadership pipelines are now scaling back commitments, often citing ‘business priorities’ while quietly reinforcing the same systemic barriers that DEI was designed to dismantle. In health care, this means fewer Black and Latinx executives shaping policy, fewer research investments into racial health disparities, and a retreat from supplier diversity programs that supported community-driven health initiatives.

A workforce that reflects the diversity of this country strengthens institutions—it does not weaken them.

Communities and community-based organizations are on the front lines, fighting for equitable health care access. Income, race, and geography all shape health outcomes. Wealthier individuals have greater access to preventive care and specialty services, while low-income and uninsured families face systemic barriers—from high out-of-pocket costs to difficulty accessing providers due to provider shortages. Ignoring DEI policies only widens these gaps, making it harder for marginalized communities to get the care they need in a country where health care should be a right, not a privilege.

Counting the Costs

The evidence is clear: Neglecting DEI is not only a moral misstep but also a significant economic blunder. A recent report from Deloitte highlights that health inequities currently cost the U.S. health care system approximately $320 billion annually. If these disparities are left unaddressed, projections indicate that the financial burden could skyrocket to $1 trillion or more by 2040. This is not just a statistic; it’s a tangible threat to the viability of our health care system and the economy at large.

Health equity and economic equity are intersectional. When health disparities increase, they increase health care costs and medical debt and reduce community and workforce participation and overall well-being. We are seeing in real-time how cuts to DEI alienate a growing consumer base and perpetuate a cycle of inequity that drives up costs for everyone.

We should be very clear; the resources needed to address these systemic issues are not the primary barrier. The challenges stem from a values problem and deeply entrenched racism. For example, eradicating child hunger in the U.S. would require an investment of only $25 billion. Ending homelessness could be achieved for approximately $20 billion. Additionally, raising the minimum wage to a livable $15 per hour would cost around $5.7 billion annually, and lift over 900 thousand people out of poverty.

DEI Rollbacks Lead to Harmful Policy Decisions

DEI is a crucial tool for addressing systemic health disparities. By integrating DEI into health care practices and policies, we create a stronger, more cost-effective, and equitable health care system. Yet, the current assault on DEI is not just about budgets and policies—it is rooted in a broader effort to erase the role of racism in shaping health outcomes. This is anti-Blackness in action: the erasure of research, the silencing of Black scholars, and the deliberate exclusion of race-conscious solutions from policy conversations. We cannot allow history to repeat itself.

Like medicine, public health carries a solemn obligation to “do no harm.” Historically, the misuse of vital health information has highlighted the dangers of abandoning DEI principles. For instance, at the start of the twentieth century, regressive social policies like residential segregation ordinances were used to justify residential segregation in Baltimore. Baltimore was the first U.S. city to enact such a residential segregation policy in 1911. At the time, tuberculosis was the most widespread infectious disease, often hastened by overcrowded housing and unsanitary living conditions; TB killed approximately 1,000 Baltimoreans each year.

We now know that these policies ultimately failed to reduce tuberculosis, typhoid, and influenza and did not decrease mortality rates. In fact, evidence shows that these rates actually increased, particularly for Black people. Black communities across the United States continue to face systemic inequities from the impacts of such policies today. When DEI is neglected, we risk perpetuating health inequities and further marginalizing communities. With one voice, we must honor our duty to confront this history and ensure that every community thrives, without fear of racism, leading to premature morbidity and mortality.

Today, we are seeing chillingly similar regressive policies take shape. An alarming and dangerous executive order issued on March 19 rescinded a pivotal regulation established by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, which mandated federal contractors to enforce robust anti-segregation measures in their workplaces. This requirement was not only about maintaining a diverse workforce; it was about ensuring that essential facilities—such as work areas, drinking fountains, transportation, housing, and restaurants—were accessible and inclusive for all individuals, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.

In any and every context – this is dangerous; especially in health care, where equity is a critical determinant of health outcomes. Ignoring DEI is not a neutral stance; it actively deteriorates the quality and safety of patient care, especially when inequities cost over 74,000 Black American lives every year and the abolition of Jim Crow laws contributed to improvements in Black infant mortality rates in the U.S.

This is a defining moment. Health systems, policymakers, and funders must not retreat—they must double down on evidence-based DEI initiatives that strengthen workforce diversity, fund health equity research, and ensure patient-centered care. The choice is clear: protect DEI as a pillar of health care or deepen a crisis that harms us all.