Healthcare Disparity Efforts: Some Doubts, Stronger Incentives Needed | Managed Healthcare Executive® State of the Industry Survey

The combination of the uneven effects of COVID-19 pandemic and the killing of George Floyd put a spotlight on healthcare disparities in 2020. Almost every organization in U.S. healthcare rushed to address the issue in some way.

Responses to the Managed Healthcare Executive® annual State of the Survey showed support for the efforts. Only a small minority (13%) of the 450 respondents indicated that they agreed with the statement that the “underlying causes are too fundamental for healthcare to take on” and more than one-third (36%) agreed that addressing healthcare disparities is a good investment in dealing with the causes of health and illness.

However, the survey also revealed some doubts and belief that changes are needed. Nearlyhalf (47%) of the respondents indicated that they agree that efforts to address healthcare disparities are “well intentioned but unlikely to have a substantial effect.”A slightly smaller proportion (43%) said that financial incentives need to be strong to make them effective.