Title 42 — The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73

§1395b–10 Addressing health care disparities

Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 7— - SOCIAL SECURITY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER XVIII— - HEALTH INSURANCE FOR AGED AND DISABLED › § 1395b–10

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Require the Secretary to find and set up ways to collect and check data that show differences in health care by race, ethnicity, and gender for Medicare. The work must fit with existing Medicare quality reporting. It must protect patient privacy, keep data collection from being too hard for providers and plans, and improve Medicare’s race, ethnicity, and gender data. Within 18 months after July 15, 2008, the Secretary must send Congress a report on the evaluation. The report must identify methods for collecting and analyzing disparity data for original Medicare (parts A and B), Medicare Advantage (part C), and the Medicare drug program (part D), and give recommendations for reporting HEDIS and other national quality measures by race, ethnicity, and gender. The Secretary must start using the chosen methods within 24 months after July 15, 2008, and must send Congress another report with recommendations 4 years after July 15, 2008, and every 4 years thereafter.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §1395b–10

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary shall evaluate approaches for the collection of data under this subchapter, to be performed in conjunction with existing quality reporting requirements and programs under this subchapter, that allow for the ongoing, accurate, and timely collection and evaluation of data on disparities in health care services and performance on the basis of race, ethnicity, and gender. In conducting such evaluation, the Secretary shall consider the following objectives:

(1)Protecting patient privacy.

(2)Minimizing the administrative burdens of data collection and reporting on providers and health plans participating under this subchapter.

(3)Improving Medicare program data on race, ethnicity, and gender.

(b)(1)Not later than 18 months after July 15, 2008, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the evaluation conducted under subsection (a). Such report shall, taking into consideration the results of such evaluation—

(A)identify approaches (including defining methodologies) for identifying and collecting and evaluating data on health care disparities on the basis of race, ethnicity, and gender for the original Medicare fee-for-service program under parts A and B, the Medicare Advantage program under part C, and the Medicare prescription drug program under part D; and

(B)include recommendations on the most effective strategies and approaches to reporting HEDIS quality measures as required under section 1395w–22(e)(3) of this title and other nationally recognized quality performance measures, as appropriate, on the basis of race, ethnicity, and gender.

(2)Not later than 4 years after July 15, 2008, and 4 years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that includes recommendations for improving the identification of health care disparities for Medicare beneficiaries based on analyses of the data collected under subsection (c).

(c)Not later than 24 months after July 15, 2008, the Secretary shall implement the approaches identified in the report submitted under subsection (b)(1) for the ongoing, accurate, and timely collection and evaluation of data on health care disparities on the basis of race, ethnicity, and gender.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 1395b–10

Title 42 — The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73