Government
Federal government backtracks on disparities report
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted March 1, 2004
After congressional Democrats raised a hullabaloo about changes to a federal report on health disparities, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson promised to re-release the report in a form that is closer to the original and grimmer draft version.
Thompson said the previously released report was the work of department officials who "took it upon themselves to rewrite" the document, and it was a mistake that would be rectified. The revisions included cutting out conclusions about the prevalence and impact of disparities and editing out the use of the word "disparity" in most cases.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/03/01/gvbf0301.htm.