This week, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of Minority Health unveiled the first CMS plan to address health equity in Medicare. Its plan focuses on six priority areas and aims to reduce health disparities in four years.
The Equity Plan focuses on Medicare populations that experience disproportionately high burdens of disease, lower quality of care, and barriers accessing care. These include racial and ethnic minorities, sexual and gender minorities, people with disabilities, and those living in rural areas.
The six priority areas include expanded collection and analysis of standardized data; integration of equity solutions across CMS programs; developing approaches to reduce disparities; health care workforce; improving communications and language access for those with limited proficiency; and increasing the physical accessibility of health care facilities.
To learn more, visit: https://www.cms.gov/About-CMS/Agency-Information/omh/index.html.