Webinars: Disability Equity During the Pandemic and Managed Care Quality and Accountability

To help our members stay abreast of important discussions in the broader fields of health and disability, we share two webinar announcements.

Quality and Accountability in Medicaid Managed Care: Where We Stand in 2021

June 22, 2-3 pm EDT

This NHeLP webinar introduces a series of papers we have put out in the last year looking at the state of Quality Reporting and Accountability in Medicaid Managed Care five years after CMS updated its Medicaid managed care regulations. Among other things, the revised regulations strengthened reporting and quality review standards for managed care plans. That included expanding external quality review, implementing a new Quality Rating System, and requiring states to detail their plan to reduce health disparities. In 2021, many of these new requirements remain unimplemented.

Even so, our new series shows how advocates can access existing troves of publicly available state data to analyze how well or poorly your state’s Medicaid managed care program is performing. Much of this data is underutilized as an advocacy tool. We explain new developments in data collection and quality reporting and suggest strategies you can push for in your states to strengthen oversight and improve reporting on health disparities in Medicaid managed care programs.

Register here.

Achieving Health Equity for People with Disabilities During the Pandemic and Beyond

June 28, 1-2 pm EDT

In the United States, one in four adults has a disability and the pandemic has disproportionately impacted this community and made it more difficult to access care. Some people with disabilities were more likely to become infected with or have a severe illness from COVID-19 due to underlying medical conditions or living situations. The pandemic also affected their psychological and financial health, with people with disabilities experiencing higher rates of unemployment than the general population. While individuals with disabilities were often given higher priority status for receiving the vaccine, many of the COVID-19 vaccine websites violated disability rights, hindering access. 

This NICHM Foundation webinar will explore these challenges and showcase strategies to address the diverse needs of people living with disabilities and work toward health equity. Expert panelists will discuss: 

• The pandemic’s impact on individuals with disabilities and Johns Hopkins’ partnership to create a database on the prioritization of the disability community in COVID-19 vaccine distribution.
• A health plan’s response to support people with disabilities during the pandemic, expanding telehealth and increased care options, and addressing comorbidities and the needs of COVID-19 longhaulers.
• Addressing the intersection of disability, race, and ethnicity to achieve health equity and the importance of cultural and linguistic competency in supporting individuals with developmental disabilities.

Register here.