Coral Co-Founder, Melissa Cohen, and Senior Advisor, Maria Alexander, attended the CMS Health Equity Conference on May 29-30, 2024. Here’s what stood out to us over the two-day conference:
There is a ground swell of support for this work. In just two years, CMS’ Office of Minority Health has created a conference that is standing room only in most of the sessions. Research, clinical interventions, and progress from across the healthcare sector was showcased in over 25 presentations and an exhibit hall throughout two days.
This is both a marathon and a sprint. The keynote speaker on Day 1, Aletha Maybank, Chief Health Equity Officer for the American Medical Association, noted that while this work is ongoing and will require years of dedication to eliminate disparities that have developed over generations, this is a unique opportunity to push things through with the momentum of increased interest and attention. She mentioned a few notable success stories including the removal of race-based variables when evaluating kidney disease and kidney transplant candidates.
Data is still top of mind. No pause necessary while we wait for data to come in, but there is currently no standardized way to measure health disparities. One session in particular, “Gold Standard: Aligning on Best Practice for Identifying and Measuring Health Disparities”, discussed a Health Equity Accelerator program organized by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and led by Sutter Health, Providence Health, UChicago Medicine, NCQA, and others. The program focuses on setting industry standards for identifying and measuring inequities in health care. Stay tuned for upcoming guidance documents or email IHI here: ntennermann@ihi.org for more information.
CMS is interested in weaving health equity into all aspects of their work but is still figuring out what that means. On a panel of CMMI model participants, each spoke of the excitement that comes from increased focus and resources for underserved populations but also noted some challenges. For instance, Commonwealth ACO was asked how they leveraged the extra dollars they received from their Health Equity Adjusted Benchmark in the ACO REACH Model. Their response was that despite anticipating an increase in their benchmark given the populations they serve, the health equity benchmark adjustment lowered their benchmark in their first year in the program. In their second year of participation, they have seen an increase, which they attribute to an uptick in participation from rural practices. The lack of consistency in funding makes staffing up challenging.
Maternal health was also front and center. Multiple speakers and sessions spent time discussing initiatives to address maternal health, maternal mortality rates, and racial disparities in maternal health outcomes. Various efforts in this area were highlighted throughout the conference:
46 states and DC have now extended Medicaid benefits for 12 months post-partum
CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-Lasure discussed CMS’ new “Birthing Friendly” designation for hospitals
Speakers referenced the CMMI’s Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) Model, for which the Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for interested states is expected to be released very soon
HRSA has established a confidential 24-hour hotline (1-833-TLC-MAMA) for pregnant individuals and new mothers facing mental health challenges
SAMHSA highlighted the recently released National Strategy to Improve Maternal Health Care, a product of the Task Force on Maternal Mental Health, which is a multi-stakeholder group of federal and nonfederal members.