Author: Ed Towns | Former United States Representative | New York

After decades in public service, I can say this with certainty: healthcare access remains one of the greatest moral failures in America. In African American communities, access to quality healthcare was often determined not by need, but by race, income, and geography.

African Americans continue to face disproportionately higher rates of chronic disease, lower life expectancy, higher maternal mortality rates, and reduced access to timely; quality care compared to many other populations. These disparities have been discussed for generations. The question now is whether we are finally prepared to embrace the tools and innovations capable of helping close those gaps.

Another example of technology helping improve healthcare outcomes in African American communities can be seen in the rise of telehealth and AI-powered maternal care platforms. African American women in America continue to face disproportionately high maternal mortality rates, often due to delayed diagnosis and unequal access to care.

Companies like Maven Clinic and health equity startups such as Irth are using digital tools to connect expectant mothers with culturally competent providers, improve communication between patients and hospitals, and identify risks earlier in pregnancy. In communities where access to specialists has historically been limited, these technologies are helping close dangerous gaps in maternal healthcare and giving more families access to lifesaving support.

That is why I believe technology companies helping modernize healthcare systems deserve serious attention — including companies like Palantir.

Too often, the public conversation around artificial intelligence focuses only on fear. But for communities that have historically been underserved by the healthcare system, innovation can also mean opportunity. The real issue is not whether we use advanced technology in healthcare. It is whether we use it responsibly and equitably.

What excites me is the growing evidence that data-driven systems are helping hospitals save lives and deliver better care faster.

One of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, Novartis, is using Palantir software to accelerate drug discovery and improve clinical trial analysis. Researchers can now determine safe and effective medication dosages in hours instead of days or weeks. Faster discovery means faster treatments reaching patients who desperately need them.

For African Americans — who have historically faced barriers to participation in clinical trials and delays in access to cutting-edge treatments — this kind of innovation matters deeply.

Hospitals are also using these tools to improve patient care in real time. Healthcare systems using Palantir software have reportedly reduced emergency room bottlenecks and shortened patient transfer wait times, helping more people receive treatment faster.

At Tampa General Hospital, clinicians are using real-time monitoring systems powered by Palantir technology to identify warning signs before infections become life-threatening. As of late 2025, the hospital reported that the system had helped save more than 700 lives.

Think about what that means.

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African American communities, in particular, stand to benefit enormously from earlier detection and faster treatment. Too often, our neighborhoods experience worse outcomes not because illnesses are untreatable, but because warning signs are missed, care is delayed, or hospitals are overwhelmed.

We also saw the importance of modern healthcare infrastructure during the recent measles outbreak, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) used Palantir software to integrate outbreak data in real time and coordinate faster public health responses across state lines.

None of this means technology should operate without oversight. We need transparency, strong privacy protections, and clear safeguards to ensure patient rights are protected. African Americans know too well the history of medical abuse and exclusion in this country. Trust must be earned.

But rejecting innovation altogether would be a mistake.

For generations, our communities have demanded equal access to quality healthcare. We should welcome technologies that help doctors intervene earlier, help hospitals operate more efficiently, and help researchers develop treatments faster — especially when those advances can help close longstanding racial disparities in care.

Healthcare access is not only about insurance coverage or funding levels. It is also about whether every community benefits from the best tools modern medicine has to offer.

The future of healthcare is being built right now. African Americans deserves to be fully included in it.

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Edolphus “Ed” Towns, a Democrat from New York, served 30 years in the House of Representatives, chairing the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and nearly two decades on the Committee on Energy & Commerce, shaping healthcare, public health, and technology policy. When he retired in 2012, his seat passed to Hakeem Jeffries, now House Minority Leader.