March 30, 2006
New NCQA Program Offers Awards to Health Plans, Grants to Doctors' Offices That Help Bridge Health Care Disparities
Best practices that address health care disparities will be presented at fall conference; initiative supported by grant from The California Endowment
WASHINGTON—The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) today unveiled a two-year program that will recognize health plans that have demonstrated innovative approaches in culturally and linguistically appropriate health care service (CLAS) to reduce health care disparities, and provide demonstration grants to small physician practices to undertake new efforts to improve care for minority patients. The program, supported by a $1.5 million grant from The California Endowment, aims to identify, incentivize, and disseminate innovative practices related to culturally appropriate health care services and reducing health care disparities.
Providing culturally and linguistically appropriate care and services has broad implications for health care quality, finance and ethics: minorities currently comprise approximately 25 percent of the U.S. population; within 50 years, that number is expected to reach 50 percent. Several notable studies, including the Institute of Medicine’s Unequal Treatment, have identified disparities in care between minority and non-minority patients. Another recent study suggests that providing and disseminating educational materials in multiple languages may play a significant role in helping ethnically diverse plan members take advantage of preventive services such as immunizations, which in turn reduces the need for later, costlier interventions.
“We’re really only beginning to understand what is effective in dealing with health care disparities,” said NCQA President Margaret E. O’Kane. “The breakthroughs are going to come through innovation and this program recognizes and rewards those health plans and physician practices that are leading the way.”
“Miscommunication between doctors and patients that arises from language barriers can have adverse, and sometimes fatal, consequences,” said Robert K. Ross, M.D., president and CEO of The California Endowment. “The Endowment is committed to helping build the field of culturally competent health care so that all individuals – regardless of their race, ethnicity, or their level of English proficiency – have access to quality, affordable health care. As a nation, we cannot in good conscience allow health disparities to persist.”
The awards program for health plans, dubbed “Recognizing Innovations in Multi-Cultural Health Care” being launched today, will highlight plans that have successfully developed innovative strategies, or which have already implemented practices designed to promote CLAS and address disparities in care. A parallel program, aimed at primary care physician practices, to be launched later this spring, will provide demonstration grants to help develop and initiate programs to address CLAS and disparities in the physician office setting.
“CMS supports all efforts to improve Americans’ health care security, especially those that are effective at closing disparities in access and outcomes,” said Barry M. Straube, M.D., Acting Chief Medical Officer, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. “This program will help increase access to care, enhance patient comprehension and encourage compliance for people who are sometimes left behind.”
Employers pointed out the business case for supporting CLAS. “As our workforce and customer base have become increasingly diverse, overcoming language and cultural barriers in health care has become a quality imperative,” said Audrietta Izlar, Manager, Benefits Strategy and Design, Verizon. “Patient-oriented programs that bridge cultural gaps make for better health care and better business; they lead to healthier, more engaged employees.”
The best practices highlighted by this awards program will be disseminated through conferences to be held in California on September 14 and Washington, D.C. on October 18 and detailed in an Innovative Practices Report. Highlighted initiatives will serve as examples of feasible activities and important lessons learned in addressing disparities. The practices discussed at the conference will inform health care thought leaders and guide future development of standards and measures in this area for health plans and physician practices.
For more information, or to apply for the 2006 Innovations in Multi-Cultural Health Care Award, visit NCQA’s Web site at www.ncqa.org or send an e-mail to CLASAwards@ncqa.org. Additional information about the demonstration grants for physician practices and a call for applications will be released later this spring.
NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations, recognizes physicians and physician groups in key clinical areas and manages the evolution of HEDIS, the tool the nation’s health plans use to measure and report on their performance. NCQA is committed to providing health care quality information through the Web, media and data licensing agreements in order to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices.
The California Endowment, a private, statewide health foundation, was established in 1996 to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians. Headquartered in downtown Los Angeles, The Endowment has regional offices in San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno and San Diego, with program staff working throughout the state. The Endowment makes grants to organizations and institutions that directly benefit the health and well-being of the people of California. To date, The Endowment has awarded more than 7,800 grants across California totaling approximately $1.6 billion. For more information, visit The Endowment’s Web site at www.calendow.org.