Six a long time in the past, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ushered in a brand new period of equality and justice for all Individuals. This landmark laws was meant to dismantle racial segregation and superior fairness for all Individuals, by prohibiting discrimination primarily based on race, shade, faith, intercourse, or nationwide origin.
As we commemorate the Act’s sixtieth anniversary, we reaffirm our dedication to upholding its rules and guaranteeing equitable entry to all our packages and providers.
Social Safety’s position in desegregating hospitals: A pivotal achievement
Social Safety Administration (SSA) carried out the Medicare program when it was established in 1965 as a hospital insurance coverage program for folks aged 65 and older. The company performed an important position in one of many Act’s most important accomplishments — desegregation of hospitals. SSA enforced compliance with Title VI of the Act, which prohibited discrimination in federally funded packages. In consequence, greater than 2,000 hospitals nationwide desegregated by July 1966. To measure the affect, in its first 12 months, Medicare supplied medical insurance to 19.1 million folks aged 65 and older.
Lasting affect and continued progress
The Civil Rights Act’s affect prolonged far past hospital desegregation. Its rules have guided our efforts to advertise equity and inclusivity throughout our packages and providers. By methods outlined within the SSA Fairness Motion Plan 2023 Replace, we proceed to cut back systemic obstacles by:
- Bettering Entry for Clients with Restricted English Proficiency (LEP): Now we have made it simpler for the nation’s roughly 26 million folks with LEP to entry our providers by launching an LEP Toolkit and publishing our first Native Language Motion Plan.
- Addressing SSI Underpayments: Earlier this 12 months we streamlined processes and up to date coverage to handle underpayments. As of April 2024, we launched over $169 million in SSI underpayments to over 152,000 folks and decreased preliminary processing time by 170 days.
- Rising Consciousness of Survivors Advantages: We focused outreach to extend consciousness of, and functions for, survivors advantages for the estimated 1 in 20 youngsters in america who’ve misplaced a mother or father by age 16, and roughly 5.5% of the inhabitants who’re surviving spouses (roughly 15 million surviving spouses), together with these divorced, aged 60 and older.
- Rising Race and Ethnicity Information Assortment: We contracted with important statistics bureaus in 7 states and territories to offer race and ethnicity information by way of our Enumeration at Beginning (EAB) program. About 99% of Social Safety numbers are assigned to newborns by way of the EAB program. The brand new information will assist enhance monitoring and handle disparities from delivery, fostering long-term fairness in service supply.
Honoring the previous, shaping the longer term
We have a good time the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act and honor the legacy of the Civil Rights Motion. On the similar time, we stay dedicated to fairness whereas shaping a way forward for dignity and respect for everybody, no matter background or circumstances. Please take a second to learn the White Home Proclamation.
We invite you to study extra about Social Safety, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and methods you possibly can help our fairness initiatives.
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Tags: fairness, Basic Data, Medicare
