The OMB’s New Rules for Collecting Race and Ethnicity Data

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently released revisions to Statistical Policy Directive (SPD) No. 15, which governs the standards for maintaining, collecting and presenting federal data on race and ethnicity. This update marks the first since 1997. As part of the OMB’s directive, there are several key requirements for collecting race and ethnicity data outlined in the ruling that Federal Agencies will be required to comply with, including:

• Combine the separate questions on race and ethnicity into a single combined race and ethnicity question: What is your race and/or ethnicity?
• Add Middle Eastern or North African (MENA) as a new minimum category, an update from the category of White to remove MENA from its definition.
• Require the collection of detailed race and ethnicity categories as described in the Notice as a default, unless an exemption is granted by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA).
• Use instructions that reporting multiple categories is allowed (and encouraged) regardless of whether minimum or detailed reporting categories are collected.

While the OMB will mandate federal agencies to complete and submit an Action Plan on Race and Ethnicity Data within 18 months of the Notice's publication, they also encourage agencies to begin implementing revisions without waiting for their action plans to be finalized. Furthermore, the notice stipulates that agencies must make their Action Plans publicly available upon submission and ensure compliance with the collection requirements within five years.

How this Impacts Healthcare Organizations

For healthcare organizations to work with federal agencies, they will be required to align with these requirements. Being proactive will help to ensure organizations are prepared to comply.  Get started today by:

• Identifying all IT systems and forms and/or assessments your organization is using to collect race and ethnicity data and develop an action plan to ensure they are configured to support new regulatory requirements.
• Understanding which vendor partners are collecting data and ensure they are taking action to align with new requirements.
• Educating internal business units and vendor partners on new requirements.
• Monitoring timelines for race and ethnicity collection requirements by other organizations (such as NCQA) as they often will require more time sensitive alignment with requirements to support health equity initiatives.

Aligning with new regulatory requirements can be a challenging process. Healthmine is already configuring our technology to accommodate these new regulatory requirements. We are also prepared to help equip healthcare organizations with the tools and guidance to streamline this process. Contact us for practical assistance and expert guidance in navigating these new regulations and implementing best practices effectively.