CMS presented its second annual Health Equity Award to Bloomington, Minn.-based nonprofit healthcare provider HealthPartners and health insurer Centene Corp. for their efforts to close care gaps among underserved populations.
HealthPartners was honored for its organizationwide activities to achieve health equity, and Centene was recognized for its commitment to make sweeping accessibility improvements to its facilities.
In 2018, CMS started recognizing organizations that showed commitment to health equity by reducing disparities among the CMS beneficiaries they serve, particularly among racial and ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities, sexual and gender minorities and people in rural areas.
Last year, CMS gave the award to Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health and Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente.