President Donald J. Trump’s executive order to roll back initiatives on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has swept across federal health programs large and small—agencies have been cut or eliminated across HHS, and hundreds of research grants have been canceled.1,2
Although the executive order itself was signed with great fanfare, implementation has been a quieter process. Now, it turns out that CMS has dropped key health equity elements of the Enhancing Oncology Model (EOM),3 the successor to an oncology alternative payment model (APM) that was largely left alone during the first Trump administration.
When it was announced June 27, 2022, the EOM incorporated the Biden administration’s priorities for health equity: Practices would be required to collect data on social determinants of health as well as health-related social needs (HRSNs) and come up with plans to address them.4,5
Now, it seems, health equity plans are canceled.
CMS has not publicly announced this shift. Earlier this month, a spokesperson dodged a direct question about the future of HRSN reporting in an email to The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®).
However, according to a leader in value-based care, the change is contained in revised agreements sent to EOM practices.
“HRSN screening has not been removed from the program,” said Lalan Wilfong, MD, senior vice president for value-based care at Thyme Care, in an email to AJMC. “However, CMS will not require or accept submissions of health equity plans in EOM for 2025 and beyond, which was a previous requirement for the program.”
In addition, CMS has amended data collection requirements for social determinants of health on a go forward basis, starting this spring. CMS made these changes through “a 2025 unilateral amendment” to existing EOM agreements. Practices were told that “this unilateral amendment to the agreement is to comply with Executive Order 14151 and Executive Order 14168, effective January 20, 2025,” Wilfong said.