The purpose of this article is to illustrate the health care crisis facing African Americans within the broader context of American health care reform. health. For one to appreciate the extent of the need for health care reform in the African American community, one must have a general understanding of the history of health care for African Americans. As the Institute of Medicine stated in a study assessing health and mental health disparities among African Americans, "the sources of these disparities are complex, are rooted in historical and contemporary inequities, and involve many actors at multiple levels, including health systems, their administrative and bureaucratic processes, utilization managers, health professionals and patients” (Snowden, 2012). The discussion about health care reform, as it concerns African Americans, will largely be a discussion about access, quality, and health care. costs. A discussion on health care reform for African Americans, from birth to death, must include issues related to the Affordable Care Act and Medicare. A comprehensive discussion of health care reform requires an analysis of the history of U.S. health care, the current state of the U.S. health care system, and budgetary projections for U.S. health care. Finally, one cannot discuss the history of the African American health care crisis without discussing the civil rights movement and the effects of segregated medical institutions on the health of Africans. Finally, I will propose an alternative that takes into account the interests of African Americans and the impending budget crisis. Cost, quality, and access to health care The U.S. health care system evolved from a network of quarantined pest shelters spread across the South and... ... middle of paper ......ture of poverty” and black blame. Journal of African American Studies, 16, 423-425. doi: 10.1007/s12111-011-9197-712. Waldron, T. (November 3, 2012). The unemployment crisis among African Americans continues. Retrieved from http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/11/03/1129721/african-american-unemployment-crisis/13. Joyce, P. G. (2011). The Congressional Budget Office: Honest Numbers, Power, and Policymaking. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.14. CONG. PAUL RYAN'S (R-WI-1) AND REPUBLIC'S HEALTH CARE PLAN IN THEIR LATEST BUDGET PROPOSAL. (2012). (). Lanham: Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/935870165?accountid=1124315. Gleckman, H. (2012). Health care and the long-term fiscal outlook. Tax Law Review, 65(4), 835-858. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1269483775?accountid=11243