- Home
- Advocacy
- Latest News and Practice Data
- CAP Urges CMS to Streamline Medicaid, CHIP to Improve Health Care Equity and Reduce Burden
The CAP urged the CMS to reduce the administrative burden for physicians and patients in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to health equity in both programs. As physicians and stewards of laboratory medicine, the CAP and its members are committed to achieving health equity and addressing health care disparities to ensure quality, accessible patient care.
The CAP responded to a proposed regulation to improve Medicaid and CHIP on November 7. In a letter to the CMS, the CAP acknowledged the agency’s initial steps to streamline Medicaid and CHIP eligibility and enrollment processes, reduce administrative burden, and increase enrollment and retention of eligible individuals.
The CAP also said that "without accessible health insurance, patients are more likely to delay seeking needed medical care, including diagnostic testing, and screening services. Access to preventative care, cancer, and other screening services, as well as treatment for chronic illnesses and mental health disorders, are essential for communities of color and other underserved populations. The CAP supported ways to improve and expand Medicaid to ensure increased health care coverage, especially for low-income people, and address health care inequalities and disparities in the US health system.
In Congress, the CAP has supported legislation to enable a better understanding of the social determinants that drive health care disparities in the United States. For example, the CAP supports the Social Determinants Accelerator Act to improve health care data collection between federal agencies and establish a federal council to develop plans addressing determinants plaguing beneficiaries in the Medicaid program. The legislation would provide needed grants and assistance to state, tribal, and local governments to deploy strategies addressing determinants in their own communities.