Sol Flores, deputy governor of Illinois, agreed with Bowman’s assessment, saying that state and federal officials need to work together to move forward on health equity, especially as Medicaid unwinding is underway.
The post-pandemic redetermination of eligibility for Medicaid enrollees threatens the most vulnerable patients, health officials have said, making the unwinding process important in eliminating disparities. But that process is moving quickly in some places, with“We are making sure we’re talking to people when and how they need to be talked to,” she said. “This administration has been extremely helpful to our efforts.
Nutrition, education and housing, among other services, were also mentioned as current and future policy solutions to eliminate health disparities. Jamila Taylor, president and CEO of the National WIC Association, the nonprofit education and advocacy arm of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, said program workers are already bracing for what the unwinding of pandemic Medicaid help could mean.
“We know that this is not going to be a single solution,” she said. “Whatever the solutions are that we build and put together, they have to be comprehensive in nature.”