6 Steps to Advance Health Equity in Medicare

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently unveiled an action plan to address health equity and reduce health disparities in Medicare within four years.

The CMS Equity Plan for Improving Quality in Medicare has six steps:

1. Expand the Collection, Reporting, and Analysis of Standardized Data
2. Evaluate Disparities Impacts and Integrate Equity Solutions Across CMS Programs
3. Develop and Disseminate Promising Approaches to Reduce Health Disparities
4. Increase the Ability of the Health Care Workforce to Meet the Needs of Vulnerable Populations
5. Improve Communication and Language Access for Individuals with Limited English Proficiency and Persons with Disabilities
6. Increase Physical Accessibility of Health Care Facilities

“Making sure care is equitable is often the forgotten core area of focus for ensuring that the health system is meeting patient needs and delivering high quality care,” said Cara James, director of the CMS Office of Minority Health. “The CMS Equity Plan for Medicare will help to ensure that as we work towards better care, smarter, spending, and healthier people we also continue work to achieve health equity in Medicare.”

The plan focuses on populations that experience disease, lower equality of care, and barriers to access of care in disproportionate numbers. These populations include racial and ethnic minorities, such as Latinos.

“We know that in order to achieve the goals of the plan, we need to work with many stakeholders, and we hope that as we start to implement the activities in the plan, we will see a number of them join us on the path to equity,” James said.