Americans’ health care experiences are as diverse as their backgrounds. Income, housing, transportation and other factors shaping daily life can create barriers to accessing much-needed care.
But recent changes in federal health policy could remove some of these barriers. The federal agency that oversees Medicaid provides health care to more than 76 million adults and children, some of whom could benefit from new programs being enacted in several states to meet their unique socioeconomic needs.
Foothold Technology Resources analyzed Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Servicesor CMS, and KFFand state health department plans and explain how each state is implementing the new guidelines to address social conditions closely linked to health, known as health-related social needs, within communities.
HRSN is a necessary support to overcome the social determinants of health – the non-medical factors that affect health outcomes and care. World Health Organization Define SDH Defined as “the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age.” SDH became most recently apparent when the COVID-19 pandemic reached the United States, highlighting how income, working conditions, and access to nutritious food (or the lack thereof) affect public health in times of crisis.
Black, Hispanic and Native American communities disproportionately affected For various reasons not due to the virus itself, pandemics have caused decades of Inadequate healthcare systemfood insecurity, over-entry into customer-facing service jobs, and Chronic stress caused by racism People of color have lower average wages than their white counterparts, making them more vulnerable to the virus.
Socio-economic factors include: 50% change in health For Americans, this means that improving underlying issues like housing instability may be half the battle to help people with diabetes, for example, live longer, healthier lives. In recent years, the federal government has begun to adopt a range of responses to address these issues, including through new guidance from CMS, which could affect tens of millions more people.
