MENA Data: Viewing Disparities Through a New Lens
August 18, 2025 · Becky Kolinski
Starting in 2026, organizations that report HEDIS® will have a new way to identify health disparities. NCQA recently announced updates for MY 2026 in response to revisions to federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) standards for collecting race and ethnicity data. The biggest change: the addition of a new Middle Eastern or North African (MENA) reporting category.
HEDIS MY 2026 includes 22 measures stratified by race and ethnicity, including measures focused on cancer screenings, immunizations, behavioral health and more. These measures can be viewed through the lens of the MENA population, which presents new opportunities to understand health disparities and opportunities for improving quality of care.
“Having access to this data helps organizations visualize the gaps in care for the MENA population and creates opportunities for policy advocacy,” says Keirsha Thompson, NCQA’s Assistant Director, Health Equity Sciences. “The impact also extends beyond health care to other community-based organizations that use the OMB categories.”
Understanding the Real-World Impact of the Changes
NCQA is hosting a webinar, MENA Community Perspectives on the Importance of Collecting and Reporting Disaggregated Data in Health Care, on September 16 at 1pm (ET) to explore the real-world impact of the addition of MENA as an OMB minimum reporting category. We’ve invited five national experts who serve the MENA community to share their perspectives on how these changes will impact organizations across the country.
Thompson will moderate the panel discussion, which includes:
- Adam Beddawi, MS, Policy and Research Manager, National Network for Arab American Communities
- Nadia Mavrakis, Co-Executive Director, Culturingua
- Sabiha Obaid, DOJ Accredited Immigration Representative, ACCESS of WNY
- Matthew Stiffler, PhD, Director, Center for Arab Narratives
- Samantha A. Streuli, PhD, Director of Impact and Engagement, Somali Family Service
“We’re thrilled to host this panel and engage in a dialogue with community-based organizations that serve the MENA population,” says Thompson. “Collecting this information will help bring visibility to a population that was previously invisible in the data, and that’s a huge opportunity to make a positive change.”
Register for MENA Community Perspectives on the Importance of Collecting and Reporting Disaggregated Data in Health Care today.
