A coalition of payers and healthcare providers publicly voiced their support for a congressional subcommittee to advance the Social Determinants Accelerator Act. The Social Determinants Accelerator Act will help states and communities devise strategies to better leverage existing programs and authorities to improve the health and well-being of those participating in Medicaid.
- A letter of support: Penned by Aligning for Health, a healthcare membership association, the letter of support include signatures from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Humana, Centene and other payers. The act would create a council on social determinants of health, provide grants to support evidence-based health services, and promote the exchange of cross-sector information.
- Innovative cross-sector efforts: “Taken together, these elements will address the complexity that often stymies innovative cross-sector efforts or limits the scope and scalability of initiatives at the state and local level,” the letter read. “We believe that the Social Determinants Accelerator Act of 2021 is a critical step to overcome these challenges and move the ball forward.”The bill was introduced during a June 24 House Energy and Commerce Committee, Health Subcommittee hearing along with 12 others.
- Funds: Grant funding would be made available to state, local and Tribal governments to develop Social Determinants Accelerator Plans. The legislation will provide $25 million in planning grants and technical assistance to state, local, and Tribal governments to help them devise innovative, evidence-based approaches to coordinate services and improve outcomes and cost-effectiveness.
- Targeted patients: Plans would target a group of high-need Medicaid patients, like homeless individuals, older workers with arthritis, nursing home patients, or mothers diagnosed with post-partum depression and identify the key outcomes to be achieved through improved coordination of health and non-health services and use of evidence-based interventions.
- Purpose: The purpose of this Act is to establish effective, coordinated Federal technical assistance to help State and local governments to improve outcomes and cost-effectiveness of, and return on investment from, health and social services programs.