Solve M.E. joins with the National Health Council (NHC), the National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF) and our partners in patient advocacy to end structural racism in the healthcare system and align on a successful path for reform.
Oved Amitay, Solve M.E. President and CEO, joined 57 other CEOs of the NHC’s Voluntary Health Agency member organizations to help dismantle the inequities that remain in the healthcare system as a “legacy” of the explicit discriminatory practices that were born into an age of racial segregation and forms of sexual, gender, disability, and other discrimination. Today, the remnants of those outright discriminators manifest as differences in location, income, employment, and insurance status.
Specifically, we stand with our partner organizations in our commitment to:
- Promote an inclusive, equitable, and high-quality care delivery system;
- Guarantee everyone has equitable access to affordable and comprehensive health insurance coverage;
- Address inequity in the social determinants of health that result in health disparities; and
- Ensure the biomedical and health-services research and the health economics ecosystem support equity in development and valuation of new and innovative treatments and services.
In the coming days, the statement will be circulated among the Biden/Harris transition team and congressional leadership. After the new Congress is sworn in, the NHC will distribute the statement to new and remaining congressional members to raise the importance of this issue for the 2021 legislative agenda.
As asserted in the statement, “Piecemeal solutions are no longer an option. It is time for a complete reimagining of the health care system to promote unbiased structures and processes to advance equitable access to quality health care for all. This includes addressing all societal, structural, financial, and policy determinations that are products of – and reinforce – this historical bias.”
We at Solve M.E. are committed to leading the charge in the movement for true health equity in the ME/CFS space, and to building coalitions with others who share our dedication to this cause.
To read the Call to Action in its entirety, click here.
