Minorities are facing possible "double jeopardy" when it comes to their health: getting both less effective treatment and more treatment that has little value to them.

A new study released Monday finds that blacks and Hispanics are more likely than whites to get so-called low-value health care.

The report, published in the journal Health Affairs, noted that research has long shown that blacks and Hispanics, as groups, tend to receive "fewer effective services" such as cancer screenings and diabetes monitoring than white people do. Those are the kinds of services known to do a good job at helping people live healthier, longer lives.

But it also turns out that minorities get more health tests and treatments that have been identified as "unnecessary and economically inefficient," as well as "potentially harmful" in many cases, the study said.

"Common examples include inappropriate imaging for low-back pain, cervical cancer screening in women older than age sixty-five, and the use of antibiotics," the report said.