Delaware Prioritizes Health Equity

April 5, 2022 · Amy Maciejowski

Equitable care is quality care. That’s NCQA’s philosophy. And we are glad to continually see that philosophy play out across the country.

We are happy to share that Delaware is joining the ranks of states using evidence-based practices and standards to prioritize addressing disparities.

In their recent contracts for Medicaid managed care, the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance require all of their managed care health plans to earn NCQA Health Equity Accreditation.

Delaware joins six state Medicaid agencies and two Exchange Authorities requiring NCQA’s Health Equity Accreditation as a tool to help plans and organizations identify and close gaps in unequal treatment.

NCQA’s Health Equity Accreditation enables organizations to begin their journey to improve health equity. It formalizes expectations through evidence-based guidelines for organizations and plans to have structures, processes, and goals to identify and address health disparities.

A Good Way to Start

As Delaware and other states put their best foot forward advancing on the the path to address disparities, NCQA wants to be a resource along the way.

Our recently created Health Equity Resource Center provides a centralized repository of research, blogs, recorded webinars and other documents, such as the White Paper on Health Equity Measurement in Medicaid.  The resource center is the place to go for all equity content, and we hope you find it valuable.

NCQA will pay close attention to Delaware and other states, plans and health care organizations as they prioritize health equity and innovate ways to address disparities and improve the quality of health care for all. You can bet we’ll be reporting their success right here.