Social determinants of health - health care isn't just bugs and bacteria

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Social determinants of health - health care isn't just bugs and bacteria

“Democrats and Republicans are coming together around a newly proposed, bipartisan legislation to help states and communities manage costs and improve outcomes for Medicaid recipients. Called the Social Determinants Accelerator Act, the bill was introduced on July 25 by Reps. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.), Tom Cole (R-Okla.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash).

The bill received support from health-care industry groups like the American Hospital Association and Aligning for Health. It proposes planning grants and technical assistance for states and communities to address individual patient non-medical needs that are closely tied to health, like food security, housing stability, and employment. It also targets high-need Medicaid patients and improving the coordination of health and non-health services…”

While this is a good first step forward, ultimately, larger systematic problems like multi-generational poverty, institutional racism, and historic trauma will have to be addressed. To read the article in full, click here.

This article can be found in The Hill.

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As Awareness Around the Importance of Social Determinants of Health and Health Equity Increases, State Legislation Follows Suit

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From the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), comes this blog post titled “As Awareness Around the Importance of Social Determinants of Health and Health Equity Increases, State Legislation Follows Suit”. This post highlights bills across the country that have been introduced which explicitly mention the Social Determinants of Health or health-related social needs.

“An emerging trend across several of these bills is an awareness of the interplay between the social determinants of health and the creation of healthy and resilient communities…” Read the full post here.

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Toolkit: Upstream Health Priorities for New Governors

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The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) and the de Beaumont Foundation have developed a set of practical, real-world tools to help governors and their teams address their policy priorities by improving health. From infographics and evidence, to state strategies to improve health, to framing key messages for state leaders, this toolkit provides a number of great resources and examples.

8 Policies that Have Contributed to Place Based Health Disparities Across Generations→

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8 Policies that Have Contributed to Place Based Health Disparities Across Generations

"Where you live plays a significant role in how healthy you are. But when it comes to promoting health, not all neighborhoods are created equal. And neighborhoods with the best access to health-promoting resources — like quality housing, good jobs, well-maintained parks, healthy food, and excellent schools — aren’t accessible to everyone.

Today, many of the differences between neighborhoods exist because of decades’ worth of interrelated policies that have cumulatively influenced where investment and opportunity have concentrated and who has access to them. The result is increasing health disparities and exacerbated inequities in communities across the country. Read on to learn more about 8 laws and policies that have created unhealthy places and about tools and resources that can help heal policy harms and create healthy neighborhoods for all..."

Erik Calloway & Chassidy Hanley | August 6, 2018

The read the 8 policies from ChangeLab Solutions, please click here.

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A Health Equity and Value Framework for Action: Delivery and Payment Transformation Policy Options to Reduce Health Disparities→

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A Health Equity and Value Framework for Action: Delivery and Payment Transformation Policy Options to Reduce Health Disparities

This policy options paper represents a collaborative effort among state and national health equity thought leaders to catalyze much needed action to leverage health system transformation for the benefit of those whom the health system is leaving behind. Ensuring that those facing the biggest barriers to good health and high-quality health care are served well by the health care system will improve care for everyone. 

Sinsi Hernández-Cancio, Ellen Albritton, Eliot Fishman, Sophia Tripoli, Andrea Callow | June 2018

This piece appears in Families USA: The voice for Health Care Consumers

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