Minorities get worse health care, but government aims for change

or steps that federal health officials can take.

"It's also a product of where people live, labor, learn, play and pray," Dr. Howard Koh, assistant secretary of Health and Human Services, told The Associated Press. "We really need a full commitment from the country to achieve these goals."

HHS wouldn't put a dollar figure on its own pending projects, but said it plans to pay for them with money already in hand and not subject to Congress' ongoing budget battle.

The tight economy casts doubt on how much states and other groups may be able to chip in, said Dr. Paul Jarris, executive director of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

But "we'll never be a healthy nation unless we address these inequities," Jarris said. "There's a lot of momentum finally building" to do so.

Recent years have brought some improvements in health disparities, although racial and ethnic minorities still lag in many areas

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