Addressing health disparities like these is not merely a moral issue. In cases where patients have the financial means but not the ability (or vice versa) to access the care they need, providers have financial incentives to expand access to care in socioeconomically disadvantaged regions. A May 2023 study estimated the cost of increasing healthcare disparities on the U.S. economy at $451 billion.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently recommended more aggressive data collection to identify risk factors ― underlying health conditions, social factors, access to care, etc. ― to support providers’ business initiatives. For example, CMS recommends using data “to support health care organizations in building strategic relationships with other local community partners to better understand and meet patients’ unmet social needs.”


Expanded access to ACA insurance plans
Access to basic coverage drives much of the disparity in health outcomes among various groups. Often, government-sponsored health plans are necessary to bridge the gap.

For example, Native Americans and Hispanics were twice as likely to be uninsured as whites as of 2021, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey. CMS recommends “addressing gaps related to health insurance network adequacy, opportunities to enroll in coverage, affordable, comprehensive coverage options, and provider availability and shortages.”

Some progress is being made on that front. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, an additional 9.3 million people gained Affordable Care Act-related coverage plans between 2021 and 2023. About 4 in 5 individual ACA-related plan enrollees are now subsidized through policies included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. As awareness and access to these programs increase, ACA enrollment numbers figure to increase as well.

Preventing violence against healthcare workers
More than one-third of healthcare workers experienced some form of workplace violence between Jan. 2020 and March 2022, according to a recent study. Healthcare workers are trained to “always do no harm.” But what happens when they are in the difficult position of being the target of abuse ― verbal or physical ― from the patients and families they serve?

While rarely fatal, attacks against healthcare workers are five times more common than in other workplaces. Post-traumatic symptoms among victims are common. To maintain a safe work environment for healthcare staff and their patients, the American Association of Medical Colleges reports that hospitals are adapting their practices to prevent violent incidents before they arise.

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