America's Benefit Specialist October 2023

HOW AGENTS AND BROKERS CAN ADVANCE HEALTH EQUITY MEDICARE MATTERS

From CMS

Advancing health equity lies at the heart of the work that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services does each day. CMS is committed to addressing the health disparities that underlie our health system. To achieve this goal, CMS needs to expand the collection, reporting and analysis of standard ized demographic data. Agents and brokers play a key role in collecting this data and advancing health equity. Starting on January 1, 2023, CMS began requiring plans to collect self-reported race and ethnicity data through Medicare Advantage and Part D enrollments. While it is required for the plans to request this information, beneficiary response to the questions is voluntary. Agents and brokers can review the data and answer questions from beneficiaries about the purpose of the voluntary collection. Many bene ficiaries look to agents and brokers for help navigating the Medicare-enrollment process. CMS’ long-term goal is to collect race and ethnicity data from all Medicare beneficiaries, and agents and brokers are integral to this effort. For example, a beneficiary may see

new questions asking for race and ethnicity information on the enrollment form and turn to an agent or broker for help. A beneficiary could ask why Medicare needs to know their race or ethnicity or what happens if they don’t answer the race and ethnicity questions. Effective communication about the importance of race and ethnicity data collection at the time of enrollment is crucial. Beneficiaries should also know that they are not required to provide the race and ethnicity information, and that any information they do provide will remain private and confidential. When meeting with and helping Medicare beneficiaries complete their enrollment form, agents and brokers can educate and inform them that: • The race and ethnicity data will help CMS better under stand the diversity of the Medicare population, including important differences in health, healthcare needs and experiences across race and ethnicity groups, and will help CMS to develop strategies to reduce and eliminate any disparities.

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