Minority Health and Health Equity Archive

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/21769

Welcome to the Minority Health and Health Equity Archive (MHHEA), an electronic archive for digital resource materials in the fields of minority health and health disparities research and policy. It is offered as a no-charge resource to the public, academic scholars and health science researchers interested in the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities.

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2004 - 200922010 - 20111

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    Healthy Women, Healthy Babies: How Health Reform Can Improve the Health of Women and Babies in America
    (2011) UNSPECIFIED
    American women are not receiving the health care they need — and it is not just their health that is suffering. Compared to other developed nations, the United States has high infant mortality rates, as well as low life expectancy rates for women. The country must improve how it cares for women, not just for the sake of women themselves, but because evidence shows that a woman’s wellbeing prior to conception can significantly impact her baby’s health. The problem is urgent. Throughout the 20th century, this country steadily reduced the number of infant deaths; but over the past 10 years, rates have stagnated. Moreover, experts say that our rates of premature birth, and of infants born with developmental disabilities, are also too high. Over the past 25 years, understanding the importance of helping women stay healthier during their childbearing years has led to the development of a new approach known as “preconception” care, which aims to provide health education, screening, and interventions to all women of reproductive age, to improve health and help them have healthy babies when and if they choose. The new health reform law, the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA), offers a crucial opportunity to expand this comprehensive strategy, and to improve women’s health and the health of their infants. The law will strengthen public health and prevention, and will ensure that millions of previously uninsured women of childbearing age have adequate health coverage. It will also improve coverage for many women who now have inadequate health insurance, and create programs to provide extra care and guidance for women who are likely to have health problems related to pregnancy.
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    Health Insurance Plans Address Disparities in Care: Highlights of a 2004 AHIP/RWJF Quantitative Survey Collection and Use of Data on Race and Ethnicity
    (2004) UNSPECIFIED
    Americans receive health care services that are in sync with the latest scientific evidence only about half the time. Studies also find that racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S. receive a lower quality of care than non-minorities and are at greater risk for certain diseases. There is widespread agreement that valid and reliable data are fundamental building blocks to identifying differences in the care experienced by specific populations, to developing programs to address differences, and to ensuring a higher standard of care. To date, national studies have identified very few providers or institutions that address disparities in care using a data-driven, quality improvement approach. In 2003/04, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) collaborated with The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to survey health insurance plans about the extent to which they collect and use data on the race and ethnicity of their enrollees to improve quality of care. The primary objectives of the survey were to: 1) assess the extent to which health insurance plans collect these data (including primary language); 2) highlight barriers to the collection of these data; and 3) identify health insurance plans interested in potential future collaborations.
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    Health Insurance Plans Address Disparities in Care: Challenges and Opportunities
    (2004) UNSPECIFIED
    In 2002, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a landmark report indicating that racial and ethnic minorities receive lower quality health care than non-minorities, even when factors related to access (e.g., insurance status and income) are controlled. There is widespread agreement that data are fundamental building blocks to identifying differences in the care experienced by specific populations, to developing programs to address differences, and to ensuring a higher standard of care. Since then, there has been growing interest in understanding the extent to which health insurance plans, providers, and other organizations collect and use data on race and ethnicity to reduce health care disparities. To date, national studies have identified very few providers or institutions that address disparities in care using a data-driven, quality improvement proach. In 2003/04, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) worked with The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to survey health insurance plans about the extent to which they collect and use data on the race and ethnicity of their enrollees to improve quality of care. AHIP also conducted follow-up qualitative research to obtain more specific information, to solicit recommendations on how to improve the collection and use of these data, and to explore potential future collaborations. A number of challenges and opportunities emerged from this quantitative and qualitative research.