Latest Minority Health Report Shows Persistent Disparities in MA

May 04
May 04, 2023

As CMS takes multiple steps to steer managed care organizations and states toward advancing health equity across government programs, the agency’s Office of Minority Health recently put out its annual report illustrating persistent disparities in Medicare Advantage. Released for National Minority Health Month and produced in collaboration with The RAND Corp., the 2023 Disparities in Health Care in Medicare Advantage by Race, Ethnicity, and Sex report showed some modest improvements on clinical care measures for a few groups, but a substantial proportion of clinical care scores continued to fall below the national average for American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN), Black and Hispanic MA enrollees.

Compared with the traditional, fee-for-service Medicare program, the MA program serves a larger proportion of minority enrollees. The report compared care for six groups across 44 measures: (1) seven patient experience measures based on responses to the 2022 Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), which was conducted between March and May of last year and asked respondents about care received in the six months prior to the survey, and (2) 37 clinical care measures based on the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) that is collected from medical records and administrative data and reflects care received in 2021.
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Lauren Flynn Kelly

Lauren has been covering health business issues since the early 2000s and specializes in in-depth reporting on Medicare Advantage, managed Medicaid and Medicare Part D. She also possesses a deep understanding of the complex world of pharmacy benefit management, having written AIS Health’s Radar on Drug Benefits from 2004 to 2005 and again from 2011 to 2016. In addition to her role as managing editor of Radar on Medicare Advantage, she oversees AIS Health’s publications and manages the health editorial staff. She graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in English.