Untangling the Complex Issue of Health Equity in Michigan→

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Untangling the Complex Issue of Health Equity in Michigan

"Imagine this: Your child has tested positive for lead poisoning, so you request a city inspection of your home. At the same time, you receive an eviction notice. You follow up with the city to find out when the lead inspection will occur so you can use it to fight your eviction notice, but the city has canceled the inspection because of your eviction. In the same week, you have your second child, who will grow up in transitional housing after your eviction." This article is part of State of Health, a new series examining health disparities, how they affect Michigan's children and seniors, and the innovative solutions being developed to address them.

Sarah Rigg | June 21, 2018

This piece appears in Second Wave Michigan

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Overcoming Challenges to Medicaid Investments in Social Determinants of Health→

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Medicaid and other payers are recognizing that health outcomes and costs are driven by factors beyond clinical care. These factors are rooted in the community and include issues such as housing, food security, transportation, and the neighborhood environment in which people live, learn, play, pray, and work. Through an initiative sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Payment Reform for Population Health, AcademyHealth partnered with the Nemours Children’s Health System to work with Maryland, Oregon, and Washington State to address the payment challenge. Specifically, they worked with states to explore current Medicaid authorities to promote and provide prevention services in community settings, cover upstream prevention benefits such as assessing a home for asthma triggers, and deliver services using nontraditional community-based providers.

Enrique Martinez-Vidal, Debbie I. Chang, Tricia McGinnis | June 13, 2018

This piece appears in the Health Affairs blog.

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Strong Social Networks are Key to Turning Around Communities→

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Strong Social Networks are Key to Turning Around Communities

What is the difference between communities that are able to recover from disinvestment and those that cannot? The answer, according to recent research from MDRC, are the presence of strong social networks. See how a network of community organizations are supporting health and resiliency efforts in Chicago.

Maurice A. Jones | June 8, 2018

This piece appears in Stanford Social Innovation Review Cities Page.

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Costs Fell by 11% When Payer Addressed Social Determinants of Health→

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Costs Fell by 11% When Payer Addressed Social Determinants of Health

Organizations that account for the social determinants of health and connect patients to services that meet their social needs could reduce spending by approximately 11 percent within a year, according to a recent study.  HealthConnections, a program from WellCare Health Plans, focuses on addressing the socioeconomic needs of vulnerable patients by referring beneficiaries to community services, such as transportation to appointments or help paying for basic utility services.  

To examine the relationship between social determinants of health and healthcare costs, the team compared the change in average healthcare expenses for patients enrolled in the HealthConnections program who had all their social needs met versus a group who had no social needs met.

Jessica Kent | June 05, 2018

This piece appears in Health IT Analytics: Tools and Strategies News

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Investing in healthy cities: Initiative transforms civic collaboration to improve low-income communities→

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"What does it mean for a health system to invest fully in its community? Dozens of health care organizations across the country are learning that the commitment goes beyond typical community benefit programs and requires innovative thinking about partnerships. It’s a mindset shift for many health care leaders but one that could be the future of sustainable, preventive population health."

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A Marketplace for Health and Housing to Exchange Money—Has the Time Come?→

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A Marketplace for Health and Housing to Exchange Money—Has the Time Come?

"Our current “investments” in health are not working. Despite spending more per person on health services than other nations, the U.S. continues to have worse health outcomes. So how do we set up a marketplace of buyers and sellers of services and products that address social determinants and change the ratios of health investments?"

Megan Sandel and Allison Bovel-Ammon | April 13, 2018

This piece appears in Shelterforce magazine.

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A Blueprint for More Equitable Transportation Planning→

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A Blueprint for More Equitable Transportation Planning

The Mobility Equity Framework offers a method to assess and compare different transportation modes based on positive and negative impacts on low-income people. It also advocates for community planning processes like participatory budgeting, a structured process by which community members can make recommendations and direct decisions on public spending and planning., to ensure that planners are actually addressing community needs.

Sarah Trent | April 2, 2018

This piece appears in Next City: Inspiring Better Cities

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Health Philanthropy’s Shift To Equity→

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Health Philanthropy’s Shift To Equity

" In the past two decades, we’ve seen a move from decreasing to eliminating disparities and, more recently, to achieving equity. The term “equity” increasingly shows up in philanthropic conferences and documents—it is as ubiquitous in word as it is elusive in practice—not only in foundations but elsewhere."

Gabriela Alcalde | March 29, 2018

This piece appears in Health Affairs Blog.

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