Commonwealth Fund 11/17/2020

The U.S. health care system is not immune from the structural and interpersonal racism that plagues American society.  Our health care is characterized by long-standing inequities in access, quality, and outcomes for people of color, which has been further pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic, adding greater urgency to the need for widespread change.

To advance racial health equity, the Task Force has issued a number of policy imperatives:

• Require data by race and ethnicity be collected, publicly reported, and used.
• Develop, test, and scale payment and delivery models to reduce disparities.
• Encourage health systems to confront and combat racism in their policies and programs, as well as to meaningfully engage and empower the communities they serve.
• Expand, diversify, and train the health care workforce
• Assess and develop protections against racial bias in health care technology

FROM: Commonwealth Fund Task Force on Payment and Delivery System Reform