HPC highlights Health Equity work and Beside doula program in new video

The Health Policy Commission used its July 18 meeting to report progress on applying a Health Equity lens across the agency’s research, market oversight and investment programs and to showcase a new video about the Beside doula program.

Commissioner Barbara Blakey introduced Chief of Staff Hannah kumak, who described four core equity strategies—research and reporting, market oversight, partnership and investment—and gave examples of recent work. Staff said they linked hospital discharge data to the APCD to study disparities in severe maternal morbidity and are integrating race and ethnicity data into analyses to identify inequities more precisely.

Hannah said the HPC currently has two maternal-health investment programs: a $1.5 million remote blood-pressure monitoring program to address hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (applications open through Sept. 6) and the Beside program that matches racially concordant doulas with Black birthing people. "We began with 30 women of color and we followed them through pregnancy, labor, birth and postpartum," a participant in the video said, describing emotional support during a high-risk pregnancy and care navigation assistance. Staff said more than 70 Beside babies have been born since the program began and that the program aligns with the state’s broader maternal-equity initiatives.

Staff thanked program managers and advocates—naming Jasmine Bland and Senator Liz Miranda for their roles in supporting the program—and said additional equity-focused publications and data releases are planned over the coming year. The commission played the produced video and commissioners praised staff’s systematic incorporation of equity into HPC processes.

Staff said more details and program materials will be posted on the HPC website.