Embedded throughout the American Heart Association’s advocacy work at the local, state and federal level is a commitment to confront proactively and address, through public policy, the health inequities and disparities that exist in our country.  Often the most disadvantaged members of the population have the greatest need for preventive screenings, health promotion, or programming and have the least access to these opportunities. In addition to prioritizing policy goals to serve diverse and disparate populations, AHA also works to engage these individuals in its grassroots advocacy campaigns.

Among the specific policy priorities advocated for by the AHA to promote health equity are:

• Supporting comprehensive legislation in Congress to help eliminate disparities in care, the Health Equity and Accountability Act.
• Working to eradicate the health insurance disparity that exists by supporting the implementation and defense of the health reform law, the Affordable Care Act.
• Promoting the reporting of health care quality measures by race and ethnicity, as well as by gender, primary language, and disability status, where appropriate.
• Working with the Food and Drug Administration and Congress to ensure that new medical treatments are available to CVD patients and that safety and efficacy data for these new therapies is available by race and ethnicity, as well as by gender and age.

Additional background:

• Fact Sheet: Bridging the Gap: CVD and Health Equity
• Comment Letter to HHS about HHS Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities (April, 2011)
• Comment Letter to HHS about Proposed Data Collection Standards (August, 2011)
• Letter of Support for the Health Equity and Accountability Act (October, 2011)
• Letter to HHS about Final Data Collection Standards (November, 2011)