As the Supreme Court prepares to hear challenges to key provisions of the Affordable Care Act, the health, well-being and financial security of millions of Americans hangs in the balance.

As "economic first responders," the National Urban League and our 97 affiliates know firsthand the crushing burden of a dysfunctional system of health care delivery that denies struggling Americans access to basic, affordable coverage and providers.

It is not a secret that people of color have poorer-than-average health, from infancy through old age. The 2012 State of Black America's Equality Index TM illuminates this disparity, with its "health" rating for African Americans hitting just 76.5 -- in other words, the health status of African Americans is just over three-quarters the status of whites. The Equality Index serves as a kind of statistical shorthand for the chronic conditions overwhelming the black community:

• African Americans are twice as likely to be uninsured.
• One in four African American women over 55 has diabetes.
• Nearly 30 percent of African American girls are obese.
• African American women account for nearly 30 percent of new HIV infections among all African-Americans -- a rate that is 15 times the rate of white women.