Addressing Racial Disparities

MAHP member health plans are working to address racial and socioeconomic disparities in health care, which have been heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic, through immediate actions as well as long-term efforts across health plans.  Two areas of focus include addressing telehealth access disparities and supporting workforce development opportunities.  This page will be updated with information on health plan initiatives and resource materials for addressing racial disparities in health care.

Bridging the Digital Divide: Advancing Telehealth Equity

The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating impacts on health and contributed to new and unprecedented access to care challenges. At the onset of the pandemic, when safe access to in-person care was very limited, policymakers, health plans, and providers collaborated on a broad expansion of telehealth services to safely provide people with continued healthcare. This coordinated response was crucial for ensuring continued access to timely primary, behavioral health, and chronic disease care for residents of the Commonwealth. However, the shift to virtual care was also accompanied by initial reports of uneven adoption of telehealth across populations.

Underlying this is the digital divide, the interconnected variations in the population related to who has access to technological devices, who has the digital literacy to use them properly, who has the financial means to afford broadband internet and devices, and who lives in areas with reliable internet infrastructure required to make them functional. Historically, those most adversely impacted by the digital divide include seniors, low-income Black people, people who do not speak English, and people who live in a rural community.

MAHP Compact for Diversity and Inclusion in Health Care Workforce Development

The MAHP Compact for Diversity and Inclusion in Health Care Workforce Development focuses on three specific areas:

  1. Promote a culture of diversity and inclusion across all levels of an organization.
  2. Support workforce diversity in health professions through creation of a pipeline to employment.
  3. Develop and increase opportunities for diverse candidates through targeted entry level healthcare jobs.

By signing the Compact, MAHP health plans commit to creating change in all three areas by fulfilling at least one initiative in each of the areas of focus. The following MAHP member health plans have signed the Compact so far.