Report Examines State Health Care Reforms That Target Minorities, Immigrants, Non-English Speaking Residents

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 28 Apr 2008 - 8:00 PST

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"Identifying and Evaluating Equity Provisions in State Health Care Reform," Commonwealth Fund: The report by Brian Smedley and researchers from the Opportunity Agenda and Families USA identifies state policies that promote equitable health care access and quality -- particularly among racial and ethnic minorities, immigrants and people who lack a proficiency in English -- by expanding health coverage and access to care, improving quality, empowering patients, upgrading health system infrastructure and addressing social and community-level determinants of health. The report also provides an evaluation of current laws, regulations and proposals in five states -- California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Washington state -- and identifies additional steps states can take to increase equity in health care (Commonwealth Fund release, 4/24).

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