AmeriHealth Administrators has earned Health Equity Accreditation from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Only approximately five percent of plans nationally have been awarded this recognition for their health equity work. The three-year Health Equity Accreditation recognizes and validates AmeriHealth Administrators’ commitment to address the root causes of health inequity. It also supports the current work the organization has been doing to dismantle structural racism and create health justice for all.
NCQA awards Health Equity Accreditation to organizations that meet or exceed its rigorous requirements for health equity. To earn it, health plans must show that they have a standardized framework in place to carry out their health equity efforts and an internal culture that supports those efforts. They must also conduct work that helps reduce health inequities and improve care, as well as have a way to collect data on race, ethnicity, language, gender identity, and sexual orientation. This information helps make certain that the health plan offers services and provider networks that are mindful of their members’ cultural and linguistic needs.
“The prevalence of racial and ethnic disparities has been a barrier to improving the quality of health care of many Americans for too long,” said NCQA President Margaret E. O’Kane. “Organizations achieving Health Equity Accreditation are leaders in closing this gap, and NCQA commends them for their dedication.”
Earning this Health Equity Accreditation is an important step on the AmeriHealth Administrators health equity roadmap and commitment to improve the health and well-being of all members. More specifically, it underscores the criticality of AmeriHealth Administrators ongoing efforts to:
- Reduce racial disparities in severe maternal morbidity, depression screening, diabetes control, and many more.
- Remove race-based adjustments from clinical decision support tools and eliminate beliefs in medicine that have existed for decades, and which can lead to poorer outcomes and contribute to inequities in care for members.
- Improve maternal health outcomes through support for unconscious bias training for birth workers by the March of Dimes.
- Give members and the community more opportunities to share feedback and participate in advisory committees.
- Collaborate with community partners, health systems, and universities to identify critical social determinant needs and barriers to health care access in our region. AmeriHealth Administrators current collaborations include: Cocolife.black, Colorectal Cancer Alliance, Economy League of Philadelphia, and more.
About NCQA:
NCQA is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations. It also recognizes clinicians and practices in key areas of performance. NCQA’s Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) is the most widely used performance measurement tool in health care. NCQA’s website (ncqa.org) contains information to help consumers, employers and others make more-informed health care choices. NCQA can be found online at ncqa.org, on Twitter @ncqa, on Facebook at facebook.com/NCQA.org/ and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/ncqa.