Recognizing Innovations in
Multicultural Health Care

NCQA, supported by The California Endowment, announces its fourth annual Recognizing Innovation in Multicultural Health Care award program to recognize health plans that have implemented initiatives to improve culturally and linguistically appropriate services and reduce health care disparities. 

2009 Award Event Details
Reception and Poster Session
Dinner and Award Ceremony
The Westin Grand, Washington, D.C.
October 15, 2009

Awards Overview

The Recognizing Innovation in Multicultural Health Care Awards highlight and recognize health plans for their exemplary efforts and demonstrated effectiveness in promoting cultural competence and addressing the health care needs of diverse members. Through these awards, NCQA hopes to advance efforts to improve multicultural health care and eliminate health care disparities.

The awards also help:

• Identify models for potential replication in other settings and for shared learning
• Provide a forum for dissemination and recognition of health plans’ efforts to address culturally and linguistically appropriate services and reduce disparities among their members and communities
• Inform NCQA as it develops voluntary accreditation standards to help organizations assess their efforts to address CLAS and disparities

Topic areas for applications, based on key concepts from the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health Care developed by the Office of Minority Health, HHS, include:

• Language access
• Cultural competence
• Reducing clinical disparities
• Community driven programs/community partnerships
• Culturally and linguistically appropriate patient education
• Cross-cultural health initiatives
• Quality and culture intersection
• Culturally tailored disease management

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation

Support from The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and The Office of Minority Health

About Sponsorship