states link Medicaid enrollment and claims data with hospital discharge data and cancer registries; Medicaid enrollment data with birth certificate data to understand prenatal and birth outcomes; immunization registry data with data from the Special Supplemental Nutritional Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and from birth records to fill in data gaps in the registry; and immunization registries with Medicaid and health insurance plan enrollment files for Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set measures. Although none of these linkages is done specifically to fill in gaps in information on race, ethnicity, SEP, or acculturation and language use, similar linkages could be attempted to use the strengths of some data sources in measuring these characteristics to supplement what is not collected in other data sources.

In order to meet the data collection and analysis needs for measuring and reducing disparities, the public and private sectors will need to coordinate efforts to develop state data and research agendas and design effective interventions. No sector can address this by itself.