In May 2022, United States Representative Terri Sewell introduced The John Lewis Equality in Medicare and Medicaid Treatment Act, legislation aimed at advancing equity in the work of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI).
Currently, CMMI is not required to consider social determinants of health – including a patient’s environment, education, and economic status – when implementing and testing new payment models. This legislation would direct CMMI to consult with experts on health disparities, such as the Office of Minority Health of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, and the Office on Women’s Health, on developing new payment models that focus on lowering costs, advancing health equity, and improving access to care.
Specifically, the legislation directs CMMI to: consumer a model’s impact on access to care for people of color, women, and people in rural areas (in addition to cost and quality); include experts in health disparities and social determinants of health during the evaluation and review process for new payment models; and to create a Social Determinants of Health Model that focuses on health conditions of those eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, behavioral health, and maternal mortality.
Representative Sewell’s introduction of the legislation follows the introduction of the companion bill in the Senate, introduced by Senator Cory Booker.
What’s Next?
In the House of Representatives, the legislation has been referred to the Committees on Energy and Commerce as well as Ways and Means. In the Senate, the legislation has been referred to the Committee on Finance.
Comments
“Our late colleague, Congressman John Lewis, knew that in order to achieve true justice, we must be intentional about increasing access to health care for communities of color,” said Representative Sewell. “As co-chair of the Ways and Means Committee’s Racial Equity Initiative, I’m committed to advancing his legacy by bringing health equity to the forefront of our policy agenda. By ensuring that the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation considers the impact of new payment models on communities of color, the John Lewis Equality in Medicare and Medicaid Treatment Act will help us reduce racial disparities and build a fairer and more just health care system. I’m proud to join Senator Booker in introducing this bill and urge my colleagues to give it their full support.”
“The current health care system contains numerous disparities in health equity and access to care, a fact that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Senator Booker. “My dear colleague John Lewis understood this and fought to make our health care system fairer. I am proud to continue this fight with this bicameral legislation that would make critical reforms to our health care system, helping our nation address health disparities and improve health outcomes, especially for underserved communities.”