Health equity is achieved when everyone has the opportunity to live their healthiest life possible regardless of who they are, where they live, or how much money they make. Funded studies must focus on system alignment mechanisms that have the potential to improve health equity.

Alignment mechanisms that aim to promote efficiency, reduce costs, or improve outcomes without improving health equity are not responsive to this CFP. Studies must examine the ability of the system alignment mechanism to contribute to an environment in which everyone has the opportunity to achieve their full health potential, and in which no one is disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of social position or circumstance.

Applicants are encouraged to follow recommendations of the National Academy of Medicine regarding strategies for measuring health equity, available at: https://www.nap.edu/read/21899/chapter/5. Measures should quantify differences in health outcomes, risks, or determinants across key population subgroups of interest such as those based on race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, disability status, geography, or other subgroups that experience differences in opportunity, social position or power.