As the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) prioritizes health equity in Star Ratings and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) advocates for “health equity by design,” health plans are reevaluating how they can simplify the care journey and expand access to care to make meaningful progress toward eliminating health inequity.
Health plans are required to focus now more than ever on the impact of social determinants of health (SDoH) data collection, validity, and reliability to drive health equity among their insured populations. Medicare Advantage plans need to understand the SDoH data that impacts their insured populations most when designing their products and producing their bids to incorporate supplemental benefits that are meaningful and drive member engagement and retention. Meanwhile, the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has proposed expanding race and ethnicity stratification in HEDIS measures amid its focus on health equity.
