Health Disparities

AMCP stands against racial and health care injustice. 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.

Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) has been recognized as a Power of Associations Silver Award by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) for its successful Health Disparities in Medication Use and Access Awareness initiative.

AMCP supports the recognition of pharmacists as providers. When pharmacists are recognized as provider members of the health care team, patient outcomes improve, and patients report higher rates of satisfaction while overall health care costs are reduced. Recognized provider status would allow pharmacists to be reimbursed for providing health care services to patients. In a survey conducted in 2023 commissioned by Wolters Kluwer Health, 58% of Americans agreed that they are more likely to seek non-emergency medical care from a pharmacist.

AMCP was honored to partner with The Skin of Color Society to develop two invaluable resources focusing on immune-mediated skin conditions — atopic dermatitis (AD) and alopecia areata (AA) — within the context of skin color, social determinants of health (SDOH), and health disparities. AMCP Director, Educational Programs/Grants Jennifer Evans, PharmD, BCACP, offers valuable insight into how to start bridging the gaps in care for these skin conditions in her latest blog post.

The Disabilities Health Equity Action Brief provides an overview of the barriers to medication use and health outcomes due to disabilities, and how managed care can identify the gaps in care and develop interventions to address these health inequities due to disabilities for their health plan members.

AMCP Foundation partners with Moda Health and Novo Nordisk Inc., launching a Health Disparities Research Internship and selects Daria Sinclair of Howard University to be the first Health Disparities Research Intern.

The Health Equity Action Brief on Geographic Inequality highlights a concerning trend of widening geographic inequality over the past four decades and what managed care can do to address these potential policy biases.

AMCP supports a wide range of measures that strike a balance between market-oriented principles and prudent regulations. Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) help facilitate patient access to medication at an affordable price.

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 assessment.

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. 

Host Fred Goldstein invites Dr. Emmanuel Mensah, a Firm Chief and Faculty at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center / Harvard Medical School to discuss taking a look in the mirror and reflect on our own implicit biases and disparities in health care.

Managed care pharmacy and prescription drug coverage is a growing part of the American health care sector. AMCP launched the annual Access, Affordability, and Outcomes report to raise awareness of the existence, prevalence, and importance of managed care pharmacy.