The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) COVID-19 Brief: Unsettling Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities

On June 22, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) unveiled an aggregate data set on the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on its beneficiaries. The CMS brief is especially noteworthy for offering COVID-19-related racial and ethnic health disparity data on a national scale, thereby extending reports heretofore limited to states, cities, or health systems. The CMS COVID-19 brief exposes distressing racial and ethnic health disparities. It is the objective of this commentary to trace the origins of the CMS COVID-19 brief, discuss its salient findings, and consider its implications.

Automated summary

The CMS released an important brief on the impact of COVID-19 on its beneficiaries, providing racial and ethnic health disparity data on a national scale. This brief exposes distressing inequalities and expands previous reports limited to states, cities, or health systems.