“Data on the ethnicity of COVID-19 Medicare patients will likely be released in early May after federal officials analyze claims from the first month of cases, the head of Medicare and Medicaid told reporters Monday.”
“National attention on racial disparities in the coronavirus outbreak has intensified as states report increased infection rates among African Americans and other minorities. Public health advocates have called for better data and prevention strategies to slow the spread in vulnerable communities.”
“In early April, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma said the department would be releasing the data ‘very shortly.’ But she told reporters Monday that because the Medicare billing code for COVID-19 only went live on April 1, the department is just now beginning to aggregate data that are sufficient to evaluate and publish.”
“CMS plans to release findings early next month after determining that earlier preliminary data could be misleading. Verma cautioned that because many medical providers have up to a year to report claims, the data will still likely be incomplete…” Read the full article here.
Source: Medicare chief says COVID-19 patient ethnicity data coming next month – By Lauren Clason, April 20, 2020. Roll Call.
