In a speech at the National Medical Association 2024 Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly in New York City, Mike announced that Bloomberg Philanthropies will provide $600 million to strengthen the future of the nation’s four historically Black medical schools. The gift will bolster the endowments of Charles Drew University of Medicine & Science, Howard University College of Medicine, Meharry Medical College, and Morehouse School of Medicine, and also provide seed funding for the creation of a new medical school in New Orleans, the Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine.
With additional resources, the schools will be in a stronger position to prepare more Black doctors to enter the medical profession — an important step in reducing health inequities and promoting the acceleration of wealth accumulation for Black individuals and families. The nation’s four historically Black medical schools alone “graduate around half of all Black doctors in the U.S., so there is really no way to overstate how important they are to equality in medicine,” said Mike in his remarks. “The funding will help ensure long-term financial stability for each of these vital institutions, which is critically important.”
Data shows that Black people have better health outcomes and receive medical care more frequently when they are treated by Black physicians — but Black doctors are significantly underrepresented in the medical field. In the U.S., 13 percent of the population is Black, but only seven percent of medical school graduates are Black, and less than six percent of all practicing doctors are Black.
The gift announced today builds on a 2020 investment to support the creation of more Black doctors by reducing debt burdens for students at historically Black medical schools. That $100 million gift — part of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Greenwood Initiative — has helped reduce medical school debt for nearly 1,000 future Black doctors. Without the need to manage overwhelming financial burdens, more than 50 percent of graduates benefiting from the support selected primary care specialties including internal medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics/gynecology, while the top non-primary care areas chosen were emergency medicine and psychiatry. Many of the graduates also opted to work in underserved communities, urban communities, and public hospitals where greater access to care is urgently needed.
The $600 million gift, also being made through the Greenwood Initiative, will more than double three of the four medical schools’ endowments, enhancing each school’s financial stability and institutional capacity to respond to the rising costs of tuition, innovative research, and operations. Howard University College of Medicine, Meharry Medical College, and Morehouse School of Medicine will each receive a gift of $175 million, and Charles Drew University of Medicine & Science will receive $75 million. Xavier University of Louisiana and Ochsner Health, who are partnering to develop a new medical school, will receive $5 million.
“We have much more to do to build a country where every person, regardless of race, has equal access to quality health care – and where students from all backgrounds can pursue their dreams,” said Mike. “Addressing health disparities and underrepresentation in the medical field are critical challenges, and Bloomberg Philanthropies is dedicated to making a difference. By building on our previous support, this gift will empower new generations of Black doctors to create a healthier and more equitable future for our country.”
Learn more about today’s announcement and Bloomberg Philanthropies’ support for historically Black medical schools: