The Medicare Rights Center (Medicare Rights) appreciates this opportunity to comment on the Methods and Leading Practices for Advancing Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through Government request for information (RFI). Medicare Rights is a national, nonprofit organization that works to ensure access to affordable health care for older adults and people with disabilities through counseling and advocacy, educational programs, and public policy initiatives. Each year, Medicare Rights provides services and resources to nearly three million people with Medicare, family caregivers, and professionals.
The need to address equity has never been clearer. The COVID-19 pandemic, entrenched economic exploitation, rising income inequality, and violent and systemic racism must be a call to action to build new pathways to equity and justice. We are glad to see this RFI’s focus on ways to see, assess, and redress inequities throughout our governmental systems.
Medicare has aided the country before as we attempted to move past the horrors of Jim Crow and other segregation and racial and ethnic barriers.1 But disparities persist, and more must be done to improve access to health care and coverage, build well-being, support dignity, and enhance economic stability for all.
Comments on the Office of Management and Budget Request for Information on Methods and Leading Practices for Advancing Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through Government
The Medicare Rights Center (Medicare Rights) appreciates this opportunity to comment on the Methods and Leading Practices for Advancing Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through Government request for information (RFI). Medicare Rights is a national, nonprofit organization that works to ensure access to affordable health care for older adults and people with disabilities through counseling and advocacy, educational programs, and public policy initiatives. Each year, Medicare Rights provides services and resources to nearly three million people with Medicare, family caregivers, and professionals.
The need to address equity has never been clearer. The COVID-19 pandemic, entrenched economic exploitation, rising income inequality, and violent and systemic racism must be a call to action to build new pathways to equity and justice. We are glad to see this RFI’s focus on ways to see, assess, and redress inequities throughout our governmental systems.
Medicare has aided the country before as we attempted to move past the horrors of Jim Crow and other segregation and racial and ethnic barriers.1 But disparities persist, and more must be done to improve access to health care and coverage, build well-being, support dignity, and enhance economic stability for all.
Reference
Recent Documents
Medicare Advantage 2025 Rate Announcement Sign-on Letter
Testimony: Legislative Proposals to Support Patient Access to Telehealth Services
Comments on the 2025 Advance Notice
Comments Supporting the Complete Rescission of the 2018 Association Health Plan Final Rule
Comments on Proposed Changes to Medicare Advantage and Part D for 2025
Statement for the Record on Medicare Advantage Marketing and the Enrollee Experience
Any changes to the Medicare program must aim for healthier people, better care, and smarter spending—not paying more for less. As policymakers debate the future of health care, we will provide our insights here.
Thinking ahead to Medicare's future, it’s important to modernize benefits and pursue changes that improve how people with Medicare navigate their coverage on a daily basis. Here are our evolving 30 policy goals for Medicare’s future.
You can help protect and strengthen Medicare by taking action on the important issues we are following, subscribe to newsletter alerts, or follow along on social media. Any way you choose to get involved is a contribution that we appreciate greatly.