In April, we commemorate National Minority Health Month to raise awareness of the health disparities that continue to affect racial and ethnic minorities, as well as celebrate the opportunities of the Affordable Care Act's groundbreaking policies to reduce those health disparities.
Despite the progress our nation has made over the past 50 years, racial and ethnic minorities still lag behind the general population on many health fronts. Minorities are less likely to get the preventive care they need to stay healthy; more likely to suffer from serious illnesses, such as diabetes, heart disease and colon cancer; and are less likely to have access to quality healthcare. The Affordable Care Act, in conjunction with the "Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities" and the "National Stakeholder Strategy for Achieving Health Equity" that HHS released one year ago, addresses the needs of minority populations and other underserved groups, by bringing down healthcare costs, investing in prevention, and supporting improvements in primary care and Medicare. As a result of the healthcare law, we are making strides in giving every American regardless of race or ethnicity a fair shot at quality, affordable health coverage. The theme for National Minority Health Month this year is "Health Equity Can't Wait. Act Now in Your CommUNITY." We are a nation of communities and we depend on each other. By recommitting ourselves to eliminating the serious and substantial health disparities faced by racial and ethnic minority Americans, we are investing in our entire nation's physical and economic wellbeing. To learn more about National Minority Health Month and what the Department of Health and Human Services is doing to reduce minority health disparities and achieve health equity, visit http://www.MinorityHealth.HHS.gov/ActNow. The full text of this excerpted HHS press release (issued Mon Apr 2) can be found at http://www.HHS.gov/news/press/2012pres/04/20120402c.html. ________________________________ CMS.gov Website Upgrade: Please take note that CMS is in the process of making upgrades to the www.CMS.gov<http://www.CMS.gov> website. If you encounter problems accessing information while on the site, please refresh the page or check back later. We appreciate your understanding and apologize for any inconvenience. ________________________________ Note: If you have problems accessing any hyperlink in this message, please copy and paste the URL into your Internet browser. If you know someone who would like to subscribe to a Medicare Fee-For-Service (FFS) provider listserv, go to (http://www.cms.gov/prospmedicarefeesvcpmtgen/downloads/Provider_Listservs.pdf). If you would like to unsubscribe from a specific provider listserv, please go to (https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?INDEX) to unsubscribe or to leave the appropriate listserv. Please DO NOT respond to this email. This email is a service of CMS and routed through an electronic mail server to communicate Medicare policy and operational changes and/or updates. Responses to this email are not routed to CMS personnel. Inquiries may be sent by going to (http://www.cms.gov/ContactCMS). Thank you.
