Today, Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and women comprise approximately 70% of the U.S. population – but are vastly underrepresented in health solution investment, development and purchasing decisions. The BIPOC population and women collectively manage just 1.3% of the $6.9 trillion of assets in the investment industry, receive less than 10% of funding for new ventures and hold fewer than 43% of senior leadership roles in the health care sector.
Excluding the majority of the population through underfunding and underrepresentation of their needs keeps us from meeting national health improvement targets while continuing to disadvantage historically marginalized communities.
To address this problem, the American Medical Association (AMA) is connecting a community of stakeholders to drive equitable resources to health solutions specifically for those historically excluded from the design and benefit of health innovation, including BIPOC, Latinx, LGBTQ+ and individuals with disabilities, as well as women. The collective power and capability of this network prioritizes equitable resource allocation for solutions to advance health, racial and social justice and ensures that the race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity of innovators and investors mirror that of the nation.
Business Group on Health has joined the AMA as a founding collaborator on their recently announced equitable health innovation initiative, In Full Health. The collaboration aligns with existing Business Group initiatives on health innovation and health equity, including access to appropriate health care as a social determinant of health.
As purchasers, developers and influencers of health innovation solutions, the Business Group and its members are well positioned to impact health equity:
- Purchasers (self-insured employers, insurers and health systems) can prioritize adoption of high-quality health solutions developed by, with and for the health of BIPOC, women, the LBGTQ+ community, people with low income and those with disabilities.
- Developers (health start-ups, innovators, established health care, life sciences, pharmaceutical and health-focused technology companies) can allocate R&D and resourcing to support solutions by, with and for the health of BIPOC, women, the LBGTQ+ community, people with low income and those with disabilities.
- Influencers (associations and coalitions, among others) can support the amplification and integration of key equity-promoting principles and measures while advocating for policy and systems-level change to ensure equitable opportunities for innovation.
Learn more about the In Full Health initiative and how it aligns with the employer agenda from a panel of AMA advisors and collaborators at Business Group on Health’s Annual Conference, to take place on April 19-21 in Nashville, TN. All panel members have specific expertise at the intersection of health equity and innovation.
We look forward to collaborating with AMA and a broad group of stakeholders to support employers and their health industry partners toward the goal of health equity and health improvement through innovation.
