Roadmap to Health Equity: Progress Update from the HHS Office of Minority Health

The Office of Minority Health (OMH) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was created in 1986 to improve the health of racial and ethnic minority populations through the development of health policies and programs that will help eliminate health disparities. Today, OMH's strategic priorities include supporting the development and implementation of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act that address disparities and equity; leading the implementation of the HHS Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities; and coordinating the National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities. The office works in partnership with communities and organizations in the public and private sectors to address disease prevention, health promotion, and barriers to health and health care among minority populations. Specifically, OMH has taken a leadership role in developing new data collection standards for race and ethnicity on HHS-sponsored population health surveys; updating national standards for culturally and linguistically appropriate health services; and promoting the engagement of community health workers. As outlined by the HHS Disparities Action Plan, the driving vision behind OMH's work is “a nation free of disparities in health and health care.”