06.29.2018 / Press Release

Groundbreaking Report Brings Communities of Color Together to Make Our Health Care System Work for Everyone

Report Details More Than 85 Federal and State Policies to Advance Health Equity and Reform Delivery and Payment Systems

Washington, D.C.— Families USA, as leader of The Health Equity Task Force for Delivery and Payment Transformation, a broad group of health equity, civil rights, and consumer health organizations, released a first-of-its-kind report: A Health Equity and Value Framework for Action: Delivery and Payment Transformation Policy Options to Reduce Health Disparities. This comprehensive report details more than 85 policy recommendations for addressing persistent racial, ethnic, and geographic disparities in efforts to reform how health care is delivered and paid for at the state and national levels.

“As a first-generation Latino American from an immigrant family and working with immigrant families, I know the barriers and inequities that people of color face when trying to get health care,” said Frederick Isasi, executive director of Families USA. “Amid current efforts to improve health care and pay for value, the voices of long-disenfranchised communities have been largely absent. Families USA is excited to partner with this outstanding group of health equity leaders from across the country in releasing this breakthrough report to advance health equity in transformation of the health care system.”

The goal of A Health Equity and Value Framework for Action is to create a resource that health equity and health system transformation leaders can use to assist them in developing and prioritizing policies that best serve their communities and constituencies. When payment and delivery reform efforts are pursued without factoring in their impact on diverse populations, they risk making health disparities worse.

The report makes clear that, as we work to reform our health care system toward better outcomes and greater efficiency, we cannot lose sight of eliminating health disparities in the process.

“Health care payment and delivery reform efforts often have not benefited disadvantaged communities because they have not been designed with their specific needs and challenges in mind, and that includes communities of color, rural communities, LGBTQ people, and people with disabilities.” said Sinsi Hernández-Cancio, director of health equity at Families USA and leading work on the Task Force and report. “As our nation becomes increasingly diverse, our health care system must evolve to provide efficient, effective, high-quality care for everyone. It’s not only the right thing to do. It’s the smart thing to do, given the demographic shifts in the country.”

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