And to All a Space Where They Feel Safe, Seen, Heard, and Valued…

A flurry of recent headlines came to mind as I sat down to craft this last blog for 2023. Each of them were noteworthy for commentary:

• A woman who had a miscarriage is now charged with abusing a corpse as stricter abortion laws play out nationwide
• Many People of Color Worry Good Health Care Is Tied to Their Appearance
• 75 anti-LGBTQ bills have become law in 2023: 21 were for restrictions on gender-affirming care for transgender youth
• A controversial Census Bureau proposal could shrink the U.S. disability rate by 40%
• Health providers say AI chatbots could improve care. But research says some are perpetuating racism
• Residential Structural Racism and Prevalence of Chronic Health Conditions
• Medicaid Unwinding and Disenrollments
• Protect the Women Who Protect Us: Close Military Health Gaps

At a time when society, and especially the health care industry have fixated their attention on policies and programs to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, it appears that there is still much work to do. Despite the wins that we have seen in 2023, my fellow health equity warriors and I have miles to go before we sleep.

2023 Was Not For Naught

Now, we’ve seen some big wins in the health equity space this past year, including but not limited to:

• The U.S. Playbook to Address the Social Determinants of Health
• CMS Advancing of payment models and roadmaps:
  •   States Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development Model”, or AHEAD
  • ACO Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health (ACO REACH) Model, and
  • Framework for Health Equity
• Regulatory commitment to advance health equity through:
  •   Joint Commission Standards to Reduce Health Disparities
  • Expansion and Reimbursement for ICD-10-CM-Z Codes
  • CMS Quality Mandates for Screening of Health Related Social Needs (Voluntary in 2023, Mandatory for 2024)
  • URAC Launches Health Equity Accreditation
  • NCQA Health Equity Accreditation Advances
  • The National Quality Forum Affiliates with Joint Commission
• Macro-level advocacy and commitment through:
  •  The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights: Recommendations for an Online Civil Rights Act to address the discriminatory outcomes, bias, and harm arising from algorithmic systems, which form the basis of artificial intelligence products and large language models.
  • The Telehealth Expansion Act
  • Federal Funding for Public Health
  • Awards to Community-based Partnerships and Programs to advance health equity.
  • Increased access and reimbursement for behavioral health
  • Expansion of Maternal Whole Person Health
  • Increased Community Behavioral Health Funding
  • Primary Care First Model

There is a robust list of legislation and funding action that has occurred across the macro- , meso-, and micro-level arenas of care. However, I’m one of those who is impatient with the progress heretofore, despite the well-intended actions. It often feels that there so many gaps and chasms in care to address, that we’ve barely scratched the surface.

Moving Forward and My Commitment to You

Every step I walk in the health equity arena ignites my passion, purpose, and the promise of all that is possible for our industry and every stakeholder. I am appreciative of those who have followed and read my blog, attended presentations, and read the content that I’ve authored, whether books, chapters, scholarly articles and other continuing education content. Your enthusiasm for my innovative work in this space has meant so much.

My Top 5 blog articles for 2023 have been:

1. Health Equity and the SDoH Are NOT Synonyms

2. The U.S. Playbook to Address the SDoH: Launchpad vs. Final Comprehensive Strategy

3. Patient Compliance vs. Adherence: Advancing the Health Equity Mandate

4. Workplace Bullying’s Wrath Continues

5. Job Search Lessons for Health, Behavioral Health, and Public Health Students

I’m taking a rest to restore my resilience over these next few weeks. But as we embark on 2024, know how much your support fuels me to keep advancing our healthcare industry.

Every effort is meaningful, no matter how big or small. Only through our collective energies will we achieve that coveted wholistic health quality compass of the Quintuple/Quintile Aim. Only in this way will we forge a safe and ethical space for practice where every patient, population, provider, practitioner be able to feel safe, seen, heard, and valued.