ACP: Governmental Affairs and Public Policy - ACP Supports S.2091, Closing the Health Care Gap Act of 2004

Advocacy

ACP Supports S.2091, Closing the Health Care Gap Act of 2004

This letter was also sent to Frist (R-TN), Landrieu (D-LA), Cochran (R-Miss) and Dewine (R-OH).

February 26, 2004

The Honorable Bill Frist
United States Senate
416 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Frist:

On behalf of the American College of Physicians (ACP), I am pleased to express our support for S.2091, the Closing the Health Care Gap Act of 2004, designed to further the national goal of eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in health care. ACP is the largest medical specialty society in the United States, representing 115,000 doctors of internal medicine and medical students. As such, ACP has a long-standing commitment to eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in health care and improving the quality of and access to health care for all Americans.

ACP recently produced a position paper, "Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care," that provides ample evidence illustrating that minorities do not always receive the same quality of health care, do not have the same access to health care, are less represented in the health professions, and have poorer overall health status than non-minorities. The paper also proposes actions that can be taken by health policy decision-makers, the medical profession, educators, and researchers to eliminate disparities in health care.

ACP is pleased that provisions included in the Closing the Health Care Gap Act resemble many of the recommendations made by the College in its position paper. Specifically, ACP has identified increased access to quality care, increased cultural competence of providers, and a more diversified medical workforce as policy priorities in support of the elimination of health care disparities.

The College favors alternatives that promote flexibility and innovation in public programs, including those that give states more options to cover our most vulnerable citizens. The College is therefore pleased that S.2091 would authorize grants to provide disparity populations with greater access to and awareness of available health care services and community resources, and grants to promote innovative outreach and enrollment under Medicaid and SCHIP. At the same time, the College recommends that a more permanent guarantee of coverage be included in this legislation. ACP favors expansion of Medicaid and SCHIP coverage to all low-income individuals as part of a comprehensive strategy to eliminate disparities in health care.

ACP has long-emphasized the importance of clear, direct communication and understanding between the physician and patient and we are grateful that S.2091 would authorize demonstration projects to test model cultural competency curricula and identify additional barriers to culturally appropriate care. ACP also applauds the legislation for building upon existing programs designed to increase the diversity and cultural sensitivity of the nation's health care workforce, such as Title VII health professions training programs, which ACP has identified as critical to closing the disparity gap.

ACP agrees that research is a vital tool to monitor and address health care disparities and appreciates that the bill includes provisions to identify disparities in the quality of care through data collection, analysis, and reporting. Without unduly burdening health care providers, data collection and reporting must be improved in order to identify the sources of health disparities, implement effective solutions, and monitor improvement. Furthermore, ACP is pleased that the legislation would provide for strong national coordination and leadership by making permanent the Office of Minority Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

ACP recognizes the magnitude of racial and ethnic disparities in health care and appreciates your effort to bring the issue to the nation's attention. We look forward to working with you to advance the goals of S.2091 and on any additional initiatives related to the elimination of racial and ethnic disparities in health care.

Sincerely,

Munsey S. Wheby, MD, FACP
President

Page posted: 2/27/2004