"We tested whether new payment mechanisms could be harnessed in health care delivery reform to reduce health and health care disparities. Here’s what we found."

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As the health care system moves towards value-based payment, we need performance measures that can assess and monitor disparities in health and health care. The National Quality Forum’s Health Equity Roadmap provides a structure to reconsider longstanding disparities in the context of value-based payment and emerging care models.

Today the National Quality Forum (NQF) published an important report entitled A Roadmap for Promoting Health Equity and Eliminating Disparities: The Four I’s for Health Equity. NQF is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization comprised of diverse public and private stakeholders who use performance measurement to drive quality improvement.

When it comes to reducing disparities in health and health care, we actually know a lot about the solutions.

This point struck me during a Health Affairs event at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on June 6, during which I appeared among a number of panelists who shared research published in the June 2017 Equity issue.

President Trump and the Republican Congress have vowed to repeal and replace Obamacare, and Democrats and advocacy groups have pushed back in force. Consumer advocates concerned about the health care of vulnerable populations have focused on preventing loss of health insurance coverage. Insurance companies, for their part, warn that repeal will cause uncertainty in actuarial forecasting, leading to higher premiums and forcing their departure from some markets.