President Donald Trump later Wednesday said he was in the systematic way that people of color, LGBTQ+ people and rural Americans encountered as they attempt to access government healthcare programs at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). He has directed the committee to be dissolved to identify and reduce the barriers.
This directive came as part of Presidential Order Regarding “Starting reductions in the federal bureaucracy.”
Trump has two weeks to heads of related institutions, including CMS' Health Equity Advisory Committee, the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid for the US International Development Agency, and the Advisory Committee on Community Banking Advisory Committee of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. I've been instructed to disband within. Advisory Committee of Secretary on COVID, Head of the Ministry of Health and Human Services.
“It is my administration's policy to dramatically reduce the size of the federal government,” Trump wrote in an order. “The order begins a reduction in the elements of the federal bureaucracy as determined by the President.”
The establishment of the CMS Health Equity Advisory Committee was spurred by an executive order, signed by Democrat President Joe Biden on his first day in office, “through the federal government, on advancing racial equality and support for underserved communities.” It was done.
Xavier Bekela, head of the Department of Health and Human Services under Biden; The committee's charter has been released The goal was stated in July 2024 to develop “recommendations for the identification and resolution of systematic barriers in CMS programs that hinder access and quality for beneficiaries and consumers.”
The committee's scope included Medicare, a government health insurance program for the elderly and disabled. Medicaid, a government health insurance program for low-income Americans. Children's Health Insurance Program (Tip) for children in low-income families. A market for health insurance programs established by the Affordable Care Act. The mission involved addressing systemic barriers to access, including structural racism.
December 2024 Notify the Federal Register When asked to nominate committee members, the panel said: A member of a religious minority. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer person. Disabled people; people who live in rural areas. Otherwise, those who have been negatively affected by sustained poverty and inequality. ”
Health disparities in underserved communities are well documented, just like disparities in access to healthcare.
Research Show Its type 2 diabetes worsens with age and requires frequent doctor visits, affecting blacks and Latinos at a higher rate than white Americans. There is also a rate Higher in rural areasAlabama, Kentucky, Georgia and West Virginia report the highest. an April 2024 CMS Report It has shown that Indigenous peoples and Black Americans in particular face barriers to access care for diabetes and related conditions.
That's true for non-white Americans with kidney failure Refer to ports at a slower speed and wait longer for them when they are there. The November 2024 CMS report showed that Rural patients were particularly disadvantaged. When trying to access medical care for kidney disease.
In the first month of his second presidency, Trump focused on reducing the size of the federal government and dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and accessibility (DEIA) efforts within federal agencies. I'm guessing it. Wednesday Civil Rights Group He sued the Trump administration over a series of DEI-related executive orderswho argued that they were unconstitutional because Trump surpassed his presidential rights and because the order discriminated against blacks and transgender Americans.
Researchers warn that DEI orders are so broad that it could hinder efforts to study race and gender and identity-related disparities across a variety of subjects, including healthcare.
A list of diversity-related words that are allegedly prohibited by federal agencies are circulating in Washington. Reuters Reported on Thursday Some Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientists were told to stop using the words “female,” “disabled,” and “elderly” in external communications. The White House told Newswire that the agency misinterpreted Trump's executive order.
“Nothing like Medicare, Medicaid, anything like that can be mentioned,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News this week. A few hours later, he GOP budget proposal has been approved In the House of Representatives blocking Medicaid funding. White House spokesman He told Politico “The Trump administration is committed to protecting Medicare and Medicaid while reducing waste, fraud and abuse within these programs.”
