Health Disparities Resources

Now more than ever, there is an increased focus on health disparities that occur across a multitude of factors, including socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and race. These health disparities result in avoidable readmissions, reduced quality of care, higher costs, and lower member satisfaction rates.  

These AMCP, AMCP Learn, and Journal of Managed Care + Specialty Pharmacy resources can help increase our understanding of health disparities, their impact, and the role of managed care pharmacy in mitigating them.   

Addressing Racial and Health Disparities  

The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) stands against racial and health care injustice. AMCP recognizes that health disparities derived from racism and social determinants of health exist in the United States and are deeply rooted and complex. In addition, AMCP recognizes that opportunity exists to improve patient outcomes and ensure accountability for health equity among people living in the U.S., including Black Americans, indigenous people, and people of color. 

AMCP is committed to 1) mitigating disparities related to optimal medication use, 2) advancing conversations by calling for pertinent submissions to the Journal of Managed Care + Specialty Pharmacy (JMCP) and conducting partnership forum(s), 3) incorporating health equity goals into the strategic plan, and 4) supporting impactful education and policy. 

• Read the full statement 

AMCP Health Equity Action Briefs 

This series provides an overview of select areas that contribute to health disparities. Each brief provides an overview of the impact, why it matters, existing standards, what managed care pharmacy is doing, and the existing challenges and opportunities. The series covers the following: 

• Disabilities 
• Race, Ethnicity & Language 
• Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity 
• Social Determinants of Health 
• Geographic Inequality
• Formulary Management

AMCP Health Disparities Landscape Assessment White Paper

The AMCP Health Disparities Advisory Group conducted a landscape assessment to understand the role of managed care pharmacy in identifying and addressing health care disparities. Explore their findings and discover opportunities to dismantle inherent health disparities by downloading the white paper. 

• Read the White Paper

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Glossary 

To engage in meaningful dialogue and identify concrete actions toward addressing health disparities, it is imperative to have a common language that promotes understanding. AMCP developed this glossary for that purpose.  

AMCP Partnership Forum: Racial Health Disparities — A Closer Look at Benefit Design 

As part of its stand against racial injustice and its commitment to action, AMCP dedicated a partnership forum to the discussion of potential sources of racial health disparities and inequities in benefit design. This forum, held virtually March 23-24, 2021, convened more than 40 experts representing key stakeholders from managed care settings. This forum helped identify potential structural issues within the current formulary and benefit design processes that may have led to racial health disparities or inequality. In addition, this forum helped identify viable solutions to reduce racial health disparities in the use of drugs and related therapies. 

• Forum Information | Executive Summary | Forum Proceedings | Forum Webinar  

AMCP Continuing Education via AMCP Learn

• AMCP Summit: Addressing Health Disparities 
  AMCP held a virtual summit that brought together thought leaders to discuss health disparities and share their novel, unique ideas. Sessions included “State of Affairs on Health Disparities,” “Health Disparities from the Patient Perspective,” “Stakeholder Perspectives: Addressing Health Disparities with the Health Care System,” and “What is Managed Care Pharmacy Doing to Address Health Care Disparities?” 

• Challenges and Opportunities in Collecting Data to Address Health Disparities
  This session discusses the types of data used to identify health disparities and, using case studies, how best to use this data to address disparities. In addition, other methods that managed care organizations can use to address disparities are discussed. 

• Managed Care Approaches to Equitable Access to Recombinant Adeno-Associated Virtus (rAAV) Gene Therapy
  This session reviewed the existing and pipeline rAAV gene therapy landscape, insights into payer management strategies, and the associated difficulties and solutions related to access for a diverse population. 

• AMCP Talks: Best Practices in Addressing Health Disparities — Nexus 2022
  Hear participants discussing specific examples of how they successfully addressed health disparities in the following topic areas: community engagement, clinical trial inclusion, data collection, and formulary management.  

• Embrace Diversity: The Impact of Managed Care Pharmacists on Transgender Care
  Gain a better understanding of how pharmacists can positively impact the transgender community in practice, contribute to a more equitable health care environment, and provide appropriate pharmacotherapy recommendations. 

• Prepping for the Future: HIV PrEP Updates for Managed Care Professionals
  This session provided an overview of existing and emerging pipeline PrEP therapies, insight on the eligibility criteria for PrEP coverage and therapy approaches, and strategies to address health disparities and patient access to care issues. 

• Understanding and Addressing Racial Disparities in Breast Cancer: A Payer, Provider, Patient, and Policy Analyst Perspective
  An expert panel of payer, oncologist, patient, and policy analysts with expertise in equity and cancer care will share real-life experiences, provide context on the latest data and policies, and discuss a range of actions which could help payers and manufacturers identify potential needs and solutions to ensure that all women with triple-negative breast cancer receive the highest quality, equitable cancer care. 

View additional presentations and educational sessions on AMCP Learn. 

Journal of Managed Care + Specialty Pharmacy (JMCP) 

• Disparity in Initiation of Checkpoint Inhibitors Among Commercially Insured and Medicare Advantage Patients With Metastatic Melanoma 
  October 2023 
• Individual and Social Determinants of Adherence to Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitor Therapy: A Trajectory Analysis 
  October 2023 
• Addressing Racial Inequality and Its Effects on Vaccination Rate: A Trial Comparing a Pharmacist and Peer Educational Program (MOTIVATE) in Diverse Older Adults 
  July 2023 
• Health Disparity in Use of Novel Agents for First-Line Therapy in Black and White Patients With Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia in the Department of Veterans Affairs 
  March 2023 
• Racial and Ethnic Disparities Due to Medicare Part D Star Ratings Criteria Among Kidney Transplant Patients With Diabetes, Hypertension, and/or Dyslipidemia 
  May 2022 
• The Role of Integrated Medical and Prescription Drug Plans in Addressing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Medication Adherence 
  February 2022 
• Incorporating Health Equity Into Value Assessment: Frameworks, Promising Alternatives, and Future Directions 
  September 2021 

View additional JMCP articles on health disparities.