The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted persistent health disparities in communities of color, which are disproportionately represented among Medicaid enrollees. With the support of the Robert Wood Foundation, the State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) is launching a new project to determine the need for a data dashboard to track indicators of health equity in state Medicaid programs. SHADAC asked James Kyle, MD, the Medical Director of Quality, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at L.A. Care Health Plan to serve on an advisory committee for the project.
The advisory committee, which is holding its inaugural meeting today, October 14, will consist of data experts, as well as individuals who bring diverse perspectives on the Medicaid program to guide the project and advise about whether and how a Medicaid Equity Dashboard could be most useful and for whom.
Dr. Kyle says the effort to ultimately improve health equity for the Medicaid population has become even more vital as we realize the lack of equity in our national response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He is looking forward to a collaboration of industry and academia to create an equity dashboard that will allow the healthcare industry to better measure and track equity improvements for vulnerable populations.
The project, which will consist of three meetings that run through the spring, will conclude with recommendations regarding: the necessity and feasibility of a Medicaid Equity Dashboard, potential equity measure domains, and initial proposals for new data that are needed to fill existing data gaps to inform and track health equity into the future.
This effort aligns with L.A. Care’s commitment to advance health equity. L.A. Care believes that everyone should have a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible.