The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Tuesday announced a plan to reduce disparities in healthcare for Medicare beneficiaries who belong to minority population, live with a disability or who reside in a rural area.
The Equity Plan for Medicare focuses on six key areas over the next four years: the collection and analysis of data; the integration of solutions across CMS programs; the dissemination of approaches to reduce health disparities; increasing the ability of healthcare workers to meet the needs of vulnerable populations; improving language access for those with limited English proficiency; and increasing physical accessibility to health facilities.
[Also: AHIP: Medicare Advantage helping minorities, low-income beneficiaries]
The plan addresses populations that have a higher burden of disease, get a lower quality of care and find barriers to access. These include racial and ethnic minorities, sexual and gender minorities, people with disabilities, and those living in rural areas, according to CMS.
The Office of Minority Health unveiled the plan during an all-day conference held in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid and the 30th anniversary of an 1985 report on minority health known as the Heckler Report.
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"As we strive to create a healthcare system that provides better care, spends dollars more wisely and creates healthier people, CMS is committed to achieving equity for minority and other underserved populations and eliminating health disparities among Medicare beneficiaries," said CMS Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt.
The priorities were developed during a year-long collaboration with the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.
Twitter: @SusanMorseHFN