HJBR Sep/Oct 2020

48 SEP / OCT 2020 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE COLUMN INSURANCE Ensuring equal access to testing and screening, regardless of socioeconomic status, racial and ethnic background, or living environment, is critical to the eradication of COVID-19. Throughout this health crisis, Louisiana’s Medicaid Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) have worked diligently to support statewide efforts to deconstruct the disparities that have affected this access, according to the Louisiana Managed Medicaid Association (LMMA). Understanding the Disparities While actual American death rates from COVID-19 have reached new highs across all race groups, the virus has dis- proportionately affected black Ameri- cans, according to APM Research Labs’ ‘Color of Coronavirus’ project 1 . The lab reported in July that blacks continue to experience the highest overall COVID-19 mortality rates, ranking more than twice as high as the rate for whites and Asians, who have the lowest rates. Here in Louisiana, data gathered in May indicates that 57.4 percent of COVID-19-related deaths are blacks, compared to 40 percent for whites. Though conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and kidney disease may lead to severe complications of the virus, The Data Center in New Orleans reports that initial data shows that racial disparities in preexisting conditions alone does not explain the disproportionate number of black Louisianans who have died from COVID-19. A recent LMMA white paper, “Strate- gies to Address Racial and Ethnic Dis- parities in the COVID-19 Health Crisis,” profiles the activities of the state’s MCOs, and how these activities can support the state’s efforts to address such disparities, said Kathy Kliebert, LMMA consultant. “Our Medicaid Managed Care plans have already invested heavily in access, care management, education, popula- tion health and the social determinants of health for the vulnerable populations they serve,” Kliebert said. “The LMMA has implemented resources and supports to ensure that the plans have unified data to drive their COVID-19 response strategies, and to assist their efforts to address racial and geographic disparities in care during this crisis.” Ensuring Access The LMMA reports that it has institut- ed surveillance of provider networks to identify gaps in testing and screenings to enable the health plans to address those gaps. Further, the organization has worked diligently to promote provider under- standing of, and access to, Personal Pro- HOWMEDICAIDMANAGEDCARE IS RESPONDING TO THE CRISIS ADDRESSING DISPARITIES DURING COVID-19: “Right now, in the midst of this pandemic, we have an unparalleled opportunity to work collaboratively—the state, health plans, physicians, social service organizations, and others—to address these disparities and reverse the negative trends that exist in our health care system.” Kathy Kliebert, Executive Director, Louisiana Medicaid Managed Care Association