Health Equity Advisory Committee (HEAC)
The Committee is established to advise and make recommendations to CMS on the identification and resolution of systemic barriers to accessing CMS programs that hinder quality of care for beneficiaries and consumers. The Committee will also serve as a dedicated platform for CMS collaboration with key interested persons to advance health equity by identifying how CMS can promote quality and access for beneficiaries of all CMS programs. The Committee will focus on health disparities in underserved communities, which are populations sharing a particular characteristic, as well as geographic communities, that have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social, and civic life, such as but not limited to Black, Latino, and Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality as defined in the Executive Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.