Connecting Climate, Health, and Equity at CMS’s First-Ever Health Equity Conference

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will host its inaugural Health Equity Conference this week at Howard University in Washington, DC. At the conference, Mathematica researchers and policy experts will present their work on urgent health equity issues, including the disproportionate impacts of climate change on underserved communities. Mathematica staff will also share insights from tools developed in partnership with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that help health and human services programs advance equity. Mathematica is proud to partner with CMS and others to advance health equity through research and data analysis that centers community perspectives and values. We will spotlight three topics at the conference.

Addressing the Impact of Climate Change on Health Equity

The rising incidence of extreme weather threatens community safety and exacerbates certain health conditions, which strains the health care system and raises health care costs across the country. The health burdens of climate change fall disproportionately on the people whose needs are at the heart of CMS programs: those with lower incomes, young children, older adults, people with disabilities, people from racial and ethnic minority groups, and Indigenous Americans. During the poster session, Mathematica’s Paul Shattuck will examine the expanding playbook of innovative policy options available to Medicaid leaders who want to address the health equity aspects and implications of climate change.

Understanding How Equitable Communication Can Make Health Care More Accessible

As we center equity in our work at Mathematica, we focus on engaging with impacted communities as participants and partners in the programs we research, evaluate, and help improve. Mathematica’s Denise Hoffman will provide tips on how to engage diverse groups of partners and how to ensure accessible and equitable communications with program participants.

Embedding Equity Throughout the Research Process

Mathematica’s Lauren Amos will join her partners at ASPE to discuss key considerations and methods for embedding equity in all stages of the research process. Lauren will share insights on how to promote equity in quantitative analysis and how to incorporate intersecting identities into the research process.