Office of Minority Health

In 1985, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a landmark report, the Secretary's Task Force Report on Black and Minority Health (Heckler Report) . It documented the existence of health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities in the United States and called such disparities "an affront both to our ideals and to the ongoing genius of American medicine."

The Office of Minority Health was created in 1986 as one of the most significant outcomes of the Heckler Report and was reauthorized by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010. The mission of the Office of Minority Health is to improve the health of racial and ethnic minority populations through the development of health policies and programs that will eliminate health disparities.

The Office of Minority Health Resource Center was created in 1987. It is the nation's largest repository of information on health disparities issues.

Timeline

• 1985: The Secretary's Task Force releases its Report on Black and Minority Health, also known as the Heckler Report.
• 1986: HHS creates the Office of Minority Health in response to the Heckler Report.
• 1987: The Office of Minority Health Resource Center was created .
• 1990: The Disadvantaged Minority Health Improvement Act of 1990 amends the Public Health Service Act to establish and authorize the Office of Minority Health.
• 1998: The Health Professions Education Partnerships Act of 1998 reauthorizes the Office of Minority Health.
• 2000: Healthy People 2010, a comprehensive, nationwide health promotion and disease prevention agenda, includes elimination of health disparities as a goal.
• 2000: The Office of Minority Health releases the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (National CLAS Standards) to improve health care quality and advance health equity.
• 2007: The Office of Minority Health leads the creation of the National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities.
• 2010: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act reauthorizes the Office of Minority Health.
• 2011: HHS launches two strategic plans aimed at reducing health disparities: the HHS Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities and the National Stakeholder Strategy for Achieving Health Equity.
• 2013: The National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Service in Health and Health Care (National CLAS Standards) are updated to ensure an even stronger platform for health equity.