Across social determinants of care, access to care and medical innovation, many policies could be implemented to improve health equity. Here are eight, pulled from a Feb. 1 report from the National Health Council.
The National Health Council in 2021 gathered a group of 58 CEOs and asked them to commit to advancing health equity. Through several series of roundtable discussions, three key areas for health equity advancement and policy were identified. Here are eight of their recommendations.
Access to care
1. Increase investment in federal safety-net programs.
2. Increase the diversity of the medical professional pipeline by working with more historically Black colleges and universities and other minority universities and colleges and students from kindergarten through 12th grade.
3. Improve data-sharing and increase the breadth of information collected to account for diverse experiences, including race/ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity.
Social determinants of health
4. Invest in direct care providers, especially Medicaid home and community services.
5. Engage providers, payers and patient organizations when addressing social determinants of health.
6. Provide more funding at federal, state and local levels to support accessible social support programs that can address social determinants of health issues.
Medical innovation
7. Increase diversity in recruiting participants in clinical trials and adequately reimburse them for their time, travel, child care and other factors that inhibit participation.
8. Create guidance for clinical trial researchers to allow them to recruit with a diverse demographic in mind.
Read the full report here.