Socially Determined

ALICE – Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed – is on the rise in the United States, meaning there are more Americans who are employed but still unable to afford basic necessities such as food, housing, healthcare and transportation, according to The Hill. While there are certain programs that address economic inequality, mitigating the root causes of ALICE require strategies that take more than income into account. It requires understanding the connections between social, health, and economic wellbeing, how they lead to unstable finances and poor health outcomes, and enacting policies designed to address persistent challenges. https://lnkd.in/eHjF39d3

The number of adults foregoing their healthcare due to high costs decreased by 4.75 million between 2019 and 2022. Researchers from the Urban Institute and Robert Woods Johnson Foundation analyzed data from the National Health Interview Survey during this period to assess cost-related barriers to care before, during and after the pandemic and its related policies protecting insurance coverage. According to the findings, federal and state policy changes enacted during the public health emergency led to significant improvements in both health insurance coverage and healthcare access. Patient Engagement has more on what the continued unwinding of the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement and potential expiration of enhanced Marketplace subsidieis after 2025 could make in these gains in coverage and access. https://lnkd.in/gXXsub9J

How is Elevance Health using social health data to benefit their members? Elevance wanted to bring physical, behavioral and social health into one assessment.  This led to the creation of the Whole Health Index (WHI): a member-level analysis of what is driving a member's whole health.  The 3 pillars of the index are: 1️⃣ Global Health (based on diagnoses)  2️⃣ Quality of Care  3️⃣ Social Health According to Dr. Shantanu Agrawal, Chief Health Officer at Elevance Health, #SocialHealth is a core component of the index because it highly correlates with overall health and health outcomes. The WHI has helped guide Elevance’s efforts to better identify members who need support and the type of support they require. #SocialRisk #HealthEquity

Good data is paramount to advancing health equity. Unfortunately, the quality and availability of data across the health care ecosystem varies widely. By collecting and analyzing data on demographics, socioeconomic factors, and Social Determinants of Health (#SDoH), healthcare organizations can identify disparities, tailor interventions, and drive quality improvement initiatives to improve health outcomes. However, there are also challenges to consider, such as: ensuring data privacy, maintaining data accuracy, integrating that data seamlessly into existing analytics and workstreams. By improving practices and bolstering analytics we can ensure improved health equity data will yield tangible benefits. Our latest blog discusses balancing these challenges and how opportunities for innovation and collaboration are key to advancing #healthequity: https://hubs.la/Q02G3t8S0

 Two decades after the National Academy of Medicine released its landmark “Unequal Treatment” report, new research revealed the U.S. has not made enough progress in closing health disparities and major inequities are still inherent within the healthcare system.   According to Patient Engagement, the 2024 “Ending Unequal Treatment” report contends the U.S. needs to improve access to insurance coverage, boost enforcement of institutions limiting #healthequity and increase data collection and research about health disparities.   https://lnkd.in/gpf7Bzb5

How did BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina incorporate social risk to help build personalized care plans? While BCBSSC had existing pop health and care management programs, they identified an opportunity for a more data-driven approach. April Richardson, VP of Clinical Services at BCBSSC, described how they developed a 7-level care management system, ranging from prevention to acute care. While this care continuum was clinically robust, the ways that people interact with and navigate the healthcare system are influenced by so much more than their diagnosis. Overlaying social risk data onto this care continuum equipped BCBSSC to create personalized care plans for their members. #SDoH #SocialRisk

"Mathematica and Socially Determined are remarkably aligned on our mission-driven focus and academic roots in a way that enables us to begin delivering value to clients on day one. "With the high-tech and high-touch strategy that our partnership enables us to deliver, we’re in a unique position to help organizations at all levels of government implement and realize value from data-driven strategies around SDoH that they couldn’t access before.” - Trenor Williams Thanks to Laura (Lori) Beerman for the outstanding coverage surrounding our partnership announcement with Mathematica. We believe our unique combination of technology, expertise, and experience can help government organizations understand and quantify the impact of SDoH initiatives on healthcare cost and outcomes.   Check out the full story in HealthLeaders: https://lnkd.in/gngPdypA #SDoH #HealthEquity #DataAnalytics

Payors may want to revisit their #healthequity strategies over the second half of 2024 to ensure they are positioned to succeed within the #MedicareAdvantage health equity index. While payor performance in the recently added health equity index will not impact Star Ratings calculations until 2027, HealthPayerIntelligence explains how data from this year will inform those 2027 ratings: https://hubs.la/Q02DXtmK0

June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month. Social isolation has been associated with a 59% increased risk of developing dementia—a key reason why Social Connectedness is one of our seven social risk domains. One of the Alzheimer's Association®'s tips to promote better brain health and help reduce the risk of cognitive decline is to stay socially and mentally active. “Meaningful social engagement may support cognitive health, so stay connected with friends and family. Engage your mind by doing activities that stump you, like completing a jigsaw puzzle or playing strategy games. Or challenge yourself further by learning a new language or musical instrument.” #ENDALZ #SDoH #SocialConnectedness

📣 Big News! Socially Determined is now the social risk data and analytics provider for Mathematica, a research and data analytics consultancy driven by a mission to improve public well-being. We’re partnering to help organizations at all levels of government improve programs, refine strategies, and deepen their understanding of #SDoH. By leveraging Socially Determined's data, Mathematica will offer its clients unparalleled insights into community-level SDoH risk exposure and individual social risk factors. This comprehensive understanding will reveal the profound effects of social risks on healthcare utilization, costs, outcomes, and equity. “Health and social service agency leaders are more focused than ever on breaking down silos between programs to improve wellbeing of the whole person. Achieving this mission at scale requires states to solve the hardest puzzle of all – finding the right data to develop, implement, and monitor their programs,” said Joshua Baker, VP of State Health at Mathematica. “Socially Determined has the industry’s most mature social risk measures, built on the most robust sources of data available. The #data and policy expertise brought to bear through this new partnership, combined with our reach and experience serving state and local governments, is a powerful force for public good.” Read more about the partnership here: https://lnkd.in/gJ_zruUT