On February 4, 2022, CPR responded to MassHealth’s RFI on health equity and proposed strategies for the collection and use of social risk factor data. CPR’s submission pointed to the intersection between poverty, race, age, and disability as factors that can create multiple, compounding barriers to care. MassHealth, and Medicaid programs generally, have an important role to play in remedying structural inequalities, particularly as they impact access to health care. MassHealth’s proposal to collect and analyze this data has the potential to broaden the Commonwealth’s understanding of the scope of these issues and of structural barriers to care in Massachusetts. CPR recommends this data collection be paired with a commitment to develop and implement responsive system reforms that secure equal access to integrated community care, engage stakeholders, monitor progress over time, and improve members’ short and long-term health outcomes.
CPR Submits RFI Response In Support of Health Equity Incentives and Improved Data Collection for Massachusetts Medicaid Recipients
February 15, 2022