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As part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) overarching initiative to support health care quality improvement to underserved Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, the Center for Medicaid and State Operations (CMSO) has engaged in an intra-agency, private, and public sector collaboration with States, various community-based organizations, stakeholders, and underserved communities interested in addressing health disparities, incorporating a health disparities component into the Agency's quality initiatives, and providing beneficiaries with information about CMS' programs. According to the National Healthcare Disparities Report, developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), though there are differences in care seeking behavior, which are attributable to factors that include cultural beliefs, linguistics, and lifestyle choices, health disparities often represent an 'inequality in quality' and usually lacks the necessary framework for quality as defined by the Institute of Medicine (IOM): patient safety, patient-centeredness, timeliness, efficiency and equity. As part of CMS's broader disparity strategy, the CMSO charge to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities in Medicaid and SCHIP will focus on the following objectives: 1. Disseminate information about promising/best practices in health disparities in Medicaid and SCHIP to the forum and external organizations. 2. Identify vulnerabilities and areas of opportunity in Medicaid and SCHIP for quality improvement and the reduction of health disparities in Medicaid beneficiaries. 3. Identify and collaborate with States and external organizations/resources to develop partnerships to reduce health disparities in Medicaid and SCHIP.
Page Last Modified: 07/28/2008 3:57:32 PM
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