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FEDERAL PARTNERS
The Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) develops strategic alliances and partnerships with Federal and non-federal agencies to further the goal of providing quality access to healthcare for the beneficiaries and recipients. Programs and initiatives such as the Every Diabetic Counts, Mississippi Health First and the Texas' Health for Life cannot be made possible without the intra-agency collaboration and support from the following partners.
FEDERAL PARTNERS
Agency on Aging (AoA)
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration on Aging (AoA) partners with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) through their Medicare outreach programs. As it relates to health disparities, CMS has entered into collaboration with the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the Patient Education Research Center at the Stanford University School of Medicine to increase the number of diabetes self-management programs in the United States.
This collaboration has a particular focus on Hispanic/Latino Medicare beneficiaries and will support HHS’ Interagency Hispanic Elder Initiative. The initiative, launched in 2007 by the Department’s AoA, CMS, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) seeks to improve the health of Hispanic/Latino senior populations. The initiative has identified diabetes as a primary issue of concern for Hispanic/Latino seniors.
The Stanford Diabetes Self-Management Program uses trained “peers,” including seniors who have diabetes, to educate participants about actions they can take to better manage their diabetes. The program can be delivered in community settings where seniors congregate, such as senior centers and senior housing programs, and it has been shown to be effective at improving people’s ability to control their diabetes and to reduce emergency room visits.
The participating communities will enlist the help of AoA’s network of community-based aging services organizations to assist in delivering the Stanford program. After three months of operation, the local programs will be eligible to submit applications to the American Diabetes Association (ADA) for recognition. To seek reimbursements for training, participating communities must have their programs recognized through ADA’s Education Recognition Program.
AoA will use the results of this initiative to promote the program’s replication nationwide.
FEDERAL PARTNERS
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) serves as the national focus for developing and applying disease prevention and control, environmental health, and health promotion and education activities designed to improve the health of the people of the United States.
CDC has a major focus on eliminating health disparities for vulnerable populations as defined by race/ethnicity, socio-economic status, geography, gender, age, disability status, risk status related to sex and gender, and among other populations identified to be at-risk for health disparities. More information can be obtained at http://www.cdc.gov/omhd/Topic/HealthDisparities.html
CDC's projects focused on racial and ethnic disparities are as follows:
Archive of Executive Orders & Initiatives
CDC's Office of Minority Health and Health Equity coordinate's activities for the White House and Departmental Initiatives aimed at improving the ability of educational institutions to serve racial and ethnic minorities and addressing the health and human service concerns of racial and ethnic minorities. http://www.cdc.gov/minorityhealth/EOs/EOArchive.html
CDC Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities
Mission: The Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities (OMHD) aims to accelerate CDC's health impact in the U.S. population and to eliminate health disparities for vulnerable populations as defined by race/ethnicity, socio-economic status, geography, gender, age, disability status, risk status related to sex and gender, and among other populations identified to be at-risk for health disparities. http://www.cdc.gov/omhd/
Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Action Institute: Impacting Change at State and Local Levels
CDC has established the REHDAI, which has been developed and implemented by the Community Health and Program Services Branch (CHAPS) within the Division of Adult and Community Health (DACH). Its purpose is to increase the capacity of local communities to impact health disparities. More information may be obtained at http://www.cdc.gov/Features/DisparitiesInstitute/.
Inclusion of Women and Racial and Ethnic Minorities in Research
CDC's Freedom of Information Act Requester Service Center: Inclusion of Women and Racial and Ethnic Minorities in Research. This Guide sets forth CDC policy on the inclusion of women and members of racial and ethnic minority groups in intramural research conducted by CDC staff. The guidelines are intended to ensure that individuals of both sexes, regardless of sexual orientation, and the various racial and ethnic groups be included in CDC studies involving human subjects, whenever feasible and appropriate. More information may be obtained at http://www.cdc.gov/od/foia/policies/inclusio.htm#PURPOSE
CDC Health Disparities & Inequalities Report (CFDIR)
The CDC Health Disparities & Inequalities Report - United States, 2011, is the first in a series of periodic, consolidated assessments that highlight health disparities by sex, race, and ethnicity, income, education, disability status and other social characteristics in the U.S. The report provides analysis and reporting of the recent trends and ongoing variations in health disparities and inequalities in selected social and health indicators, both of which are important steps in encouraging actions and facilitating accountability to reduce modifiable disparities by using interventions that are effective and scalable. More information may be obtained at http://wwwtest.cdc.gov/minorityhealth/CHDIReport.html
FEDERAL PARTNERS
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
Tens of millions of Americans get affordable health care and other help through HRSA's 80-plus programs and 3,000 grantees.
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is the primary Federal agency for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated or medically vulnerable.
Comprising six bureaus and 13 offices, HRSA provides leadership and financial support to health care providers in every state and U.S. territory. HRSA grantees provide health care to uninsured people, people living with HIV/AIDS, and pregnant women, mothers and children. They train health professionals and improve systems of care in rural communities.
HRSA oversees organ, bone marrow and cord blood donation. It supports programs that prepare against bioterrorism, compensates individuals harmed by vaccination, and maintains databases that protect against health care malpractice and health care waste, fraud and abuse.
HRSA Programs focused on Health Disparities
Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities
- HRSA's Office of Minority Health provides leadership agency-wide for programs and activities which address the special health needs of racial/ethnic minorities to eliminate disparities, while improving health status. Needs include access to health care and health promotion systems which are affordable, comprehensive, and responsive; take into consideration physical, temporal, structural, financial, and linguistic barriers to care; and promote the use of culturally competent approaches to enhance the effectiveness of service delivery. More information may be obtained at http://www.ask.hrsa.gov/detail_organizations.cfm?OrgID=719
Diversity and Development
- The Division of Health Professions Diversity (DHPD), formerly Division of Disadvantaged Assistance, makes grants to schools and health professions training programs to increase diversity within the health fields. The grants provide disadvantaged and under-represented minority students and faculty opportunities to enhance their academic skills and obtain the support needed to graduate from health professions schools or faculty development programs. Scholarship, loan and loan repayment programs for disadvantaged health professions students and faculty are administered by the Division of Student Assistance. More information may be obtained at http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/grants/diversity.htm
Community Health Center Program (CHC)
- The CHC Program is a Federal grant program funded under Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act to provide for primary and preventive health care services in medically-underserved areas throughout the U.S. and its territories. CHCs provide family-oriented primary and preventive health care services for people living in rural and urban medically underserved communities. CHCs exist in areas where economic, geographic, or cultural barriers limit access to primary health care for a substantial portion of the population; and they tailor services to the needs of the community. More information may be obtained at http://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/Search_HCC.aspx
FEDERAL PARTNERS
US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is partnering with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) HOPE VI program. HUD Hope VI is the nation’s most aggressive effort to renew the public housing stock over recent decades. Since 1993, the program has sought to revitalize the Nation’s housing inventory. On September 26, 2007, this program was designated for continuation through the passage of the HOPE VI Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2007. HOPE VI works in partnership with communities and the Federal sector so that current and prospective HOPE VI communities can be sustained. As the revenues assigned to the HOPE VI program have grown and even more successful programs have been identified, HUD has increased its efforts to document these successes to learn lessons from the challenges encountered and most importantly to identify ways that all communities can institutionalize and sustain the most effective strategies and practices.
CMS will work closely with seniors in places, such as in the public housing system, and who have now returned to HOPE VI communities. This population includes large numbers of persons who can be classified as underserved populations.
FEDERAL PARTNERS
National Institute of Health (NIH)
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) are co-spearheading efforts to address health disparities. This initiative is a direct outcome of the 2008 “NIH Summit: The Science of Eliminating Health Disparities.” CMS and its contractors have reviewed recommendations from the plenary and breakout sessions in order to identify strategies that address disparities across all Federal sectors (e.g., housing, education, health, etc.).
Another joint effort between CMS and NIH was the diabetes self-management education (DSME) program in the state of Tennessee. This project was funded by NIH. This project was slightly different from other Every Diabetic Counts (EDC) projects in that it was designed to decrease the incidence of diabetes outcomes, as well as the progression of chronic kidney disease. In addition to extensive partnerships, the project used health provider facilitators (called “Community Champions”) to facilitate access to primary care practices and community health workers. The Community Champions also assisted in defining the community resources that were available and they provided insight into how clinical practice could be effectively linked to public health interventions for the benefit of underserved Medicare beneficiaries.
FEDERAL PARTNERS
HHS Office of Minority Health (OMH)
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is working with the Federal Collaboration on Health Disparities Research (FCHDR). The FCHDR is an alliance between Federal partners who operate under the leadership of the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Minority Health, and seek to identify new or improved solutions to eliminate health disparities through research that can influence practice and policy. Through this collaborative effort, CMS has been working with Federal agencies to:
- Explore the complexity of health disparities reduction through social determinants and identify new or improved solutions;
- Coordinate across and between Federal agencies to actively pursue evidenced-based interventions that will lead to the reduction of health disparities;
- Support and disseminate measurable health outcomes to enhance services in key pubic health areas;
- Identify priorities for cross-agency collaborations with CMS; and,
- Improve efforts to collect, disseminate and use data related to health disparities.