JOINT CENTER News Room
Joint Center to Host Forum on Medicaid Managed Care's Impact on Access to Quality Care for Minority Americans
June 2, 1998
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - As states enroll more Medicaid beneficiaries in managed care plans, the debate has intensified over access to quality care for minority Americans. An overarching question is whether concern about controlling cost is taking priority over quality of care. The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and The Commonwealth Fund will examine issues of access to and quality of care for minority Americans at a forum today at the Rayburn House Office Building, Room B-338, Washington, D.C. from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Congressman Louis Stokes (D-OH), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus' Health Brain Trust will moderate.
"The current debate over patients' rights in Congress and among providers, insurance companies, and advocacy groups clearly indicates that health care in America remains in a state of flux," said Joint Center president Eddie N. Williams. "A number of factors are not only shaping how quality health care is provided, but who has access to it, and we must be vigilant to ensure that minorities do not fall through the cracks."
Participants will discuss the recommendations from two previous roundtable discussions of experts from academia, industry, and government, and representatives from managed care organizations. Key policy options expected to come out of today's meeting include adopting a "Patients' Bill of Rights"; developing and implementing standard measurements of quality of care that also focus on the specific health concerns of racial, ethnic, religious and linguistic minority populations; and using community-based organizations to provide culturally relevant and appropriate consumer training and education.
"Minorities are more likely to lack health insurance, to be without a regular doctor, to report having difficulty getting medical care, and to be dissatisfied with medical care received," said Karen Scott Collins, assistant vice president of The Commonwealth Fund. "As managed care continues to grow in both the public and private sectors, it is important to ensure that access to quality health care for minorities is not further compromised."
Panelists are Rodney Armstead, MD, United Health Plan; Karen Scott Collins, MD, MPH, The Commonwealth Fund; Sylvia Drew Ivie, JD, T.H.E. Clinic; Arnold Epstein, Ph.D., Harvard University; Darrell Gaskin, Ph.D., Georgetown University; Elizabeth Mackenzie, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania; Chris Molnar, MPH, Community Service Society; and David Nerenz, Ph.D., Henry Ford Health System.
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The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies informs and illuminates the nation's major public policy debates through research, analysis, and information dissemination in order to: improve the socioeconomic status of black Americans and other minorities; expand their effective participation in the political and public policy arenas; and promote communications and relationships across racial and ethnic lines to strengthen the nation's pluralistic society.
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