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MAXIMIZING OUR RETURN ON INVESTMENT
Healthy States National Task Force subcommittee examines social determinants to shape the future of health care
ISSUE 1 2020 | CAPITOL IDEAS
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This story is one of a series that will summarize the hard work being done by the subcommittees of the CSG Healthy States National Task Force and the CSG The Future of Work National Task Force. The members of these subcommittees will work with CSG policy analysts to issue the findings of these task forces in a report following the conclusion of their work at the close of 2020.
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Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance have often taken center stage in policy aimed at lowering health care costs and improving population health. However, the body of research shows that social and economic factors — such as education, socioeconomic status and access to affordable housing and food — have a large influence on health care costs. In light of this research, many states have expanded the focus of their health policy. In 2017, 19 states required Medicaid managed care plans to screen for and/or provide referrals for social needs, and a recent survey of Medicaid managed care plans found that 91% of responding plans reported addressing social determinants of health, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
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“Socioeconomic factors play a huge role in social determinants of health,” said CSG Policy Analyst Brandy Whisman. “Access to health care is often dependent on where you live and how much money you make. Economic factors have a direct effect on health outcomes. One of the potential avenues that states can look at for addressing social determinants of health is identifying and analyzing policies in traditionally non-health areas like education, transportation and housing.” Whisman staffs the State Health Systems Return on Investment Subcommittee, a part of the CSG
Graph Source: Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, https://www.kff.org/disparities-policy/issue-brief/ beyond-health-care-the-role-of-social-determinants-in-promoting-health-and-health-equity/. Schroeder, SA (2007), We Can Do Better—Improving the Health of the American People, NEJM, 357:1221–8.
