Dive Brief:
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Payers have increasingly recognized the link between a person's health and social factors like housing stability, according to a new America's Health Insurance Plans report.
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Housing remains one of the most complicated social determinants of health. Insurers have partnered with other health organizations to invest in affordable real estate and expand case management services for people with housing needs.
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AHIP said public-private collaborations that include federal, state, local and community organizations working together to improve outcomes are needed and payers "continue to collaborate across sectors to improve access to safe and affordable housing."
Dive Insight:
Payers and providers understand the connection between social determinants and health outcomes. Factors like education, a person's place of birth, employment and access to food all influence health, but few things can hamper efforts more than a lack of housing.
A Boston Medical Center study this year found that children aged 4 and under in low-income, unstable housing had a nearly 20% increased risk of hospitalization and a more than 25% increased risk of developmental delays.
The issue goes beyond homelessness and home instability. Living in a house with deteriorating paint and plumbing can lead to elevated blood lead in children. A child living in a home with smoke, mold and leaks is also more likely to develop asthma, AHIP said.
AHIP highlighted a few payer programs aimed at confronting the problem of lack of housing. Anthem has launched a program to provide short-term, transitional housing in Indianapolis, where it is headquartered. MVP Health Care in New York offers a plan geared for members who receive state services based on behavioral health and/or substance use needs. It provides the members additional services to help with employment, stress management and housing. AmeriHealth Caritas is investing in similar programs in Washington, D.C.
Those are just three of the payers highlighted in AHIP's report, and they're far from the only companies working on the issue. Providers are also collaborating with community groups to find ways to tackle social determinants of health.
One key stakeholder in helping patients with social assistance needs is Medicaid. A recent Georgetown University Health Policy Institute brief and a National Quality Forum report both suggest Medicaid could play a key leadership role to broaden healthcare beyond a doctor's office and tackle social, economic and environmental conditions.
"State Medicaid programs should leverage their role as a major payer for health services to coordinate partnerships between health systems and community service providers, incentivize data collection and link Medicaid enrollee data to other data sources that can be used to assess social needs like food insecurity and housing instability," NQF said in the report published earlier this year. "Ultimately, these efforts will lead to a more holistic approach to improve the health populations with the greatest need."