| Social Determinants Updates |
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June 9 to June 23, 2023
Welcome to Aligning for Health's bi-weekly Social Determinants Updates newsletter.
To add news or events to this newsletter, email info@aligningforhealth.org.
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Member News
AHA:
Aligning Health Equity and Community Health Goals (6/12) – AHA held its Community Health Improvement Week, highlighting hospitals and community organizations that are working together to enhance health.
Vizient: Vizient Leader Presents at the Inaugural CMS Health Equity Conference (6/12) – Vizient community health expert Karyl Kopaskie participated in a panel discussion during the inaugural CMS Health Equity Conference on, “Measure What Matters: Examining Variation in Health Equity Tracking and Measurement Practices Across Healthcare Systems in the U.S.”
CareSource: Community health workers cites as unsung heroes in complex health care system (6/14) – CareSource and Central State University partnered to launch a certificate program to train community health workers, who help people in need to navigate the complex health care system and find solutions to other aspects of life that impact health, like housing and jobs.
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Legislative Roundup
Food Access and Stability Act (6/13) - Rep. Caraveo (D-CO) and 16 cosponsors introduced the Food Access and Stability Act (H.R. 4060), which would repeal the sunset of the work requirement exemption applicable to homeless individuals, veterans, and foster care individuals for the purpose of determining eligibility to receive supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008.
Ensuring Fee-Free Benefit Transactions Act (6/14) - Reps. Brown (D-OH), Jacobs (D-CA), and Blumenauer (D-OR) introduced the Ensuring Fee-Free Benefit Transactions Act (H.R. 4103), which would make permanent the moratorium on SNAP benefit transaction fees.
Maternal Health For Veterans Act (6/14) - Sens. Duckworth (D-IL) and Collins (R-ME) introduced the Maternal Health for Veterans Act (S. 2026), which would provide support for programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs relating to the coordination of maternity health care.
Opt for Health with SNAP (OH SNAP), Close the Fruit and Vegetable Gap Act (6/16) – Sens. Booker (D-NJ) and Rep. Blunt Rochester (D-DE) led the introduction of the Opt for Health with SNAP (OH SNAP), Close the Fruit and Vegetable Gap Act, which would expand the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), which incentivized low-income recipients to consumer fruits and vegetables.
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To view a full list of the legislation we are tracking around social determinants of health, health equity/disparities, and maternal health in the 118th Congress, click here.
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New CDC Funding Opportunities to Address SDOH!
The CDC recently announced the availability of two funding opportunities to address social determinants of health:
- The Addressing Conditions to Improve Population Health (ACTion) grants will fund state, local, territorial, and tribal jurisdictions that are ready to take ACTion in communities to implement policy, systems, and environmental change (PSE) interventions that address Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) to reduce chronic disease related disparities, risk factors, and inequities. This funding opportunity incorporates lessons learned from fiscal year (FY)21 and FY22 SDOH Accelerator Grants to address SDOH through PSE changes that improve health equity. Five applicants are expected to be funded to complete three-year ACTion projects focused on implementing established plans that include PSE interventions in one of four SDOH domains. Applications are due June 30, 2023.
- The Social Determinants of Health Accelerator Plans grants will provide funds to develop multisector action plans to address SDOH. The purpose of the funding opportunity is to accelerate action in state, local, territorial, and tribal jurisdictions that lead to improved chronic disease outcomes among persons experiencing health disparities and inequities. Approximately 15 applicants will be funded to collaborate with multisectoral partners to develop implementation-ready SDOH Accelerator Plans to reduce disparities in health outcomes related to chronic disease within a state, local, territorial, and tribal jurisdiction, community, or catchment area. Applications are due July 11, 2023.
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Administration Updates
CMS: Biden-Harris Administration Announces New York’s Medicaid and CHIP Postpartum Coverage Expansion; 35 States & D.C. Now Offer Full Year of Coverage After Pregnancy (6/13) – CMS announced New York’s extension of comprehensive coverage after pregnancy through Medicaid and CHIP for a full 12 months, becoming the 35th state to do so.
ACL:
Input Needed: Proposed Update to Older Americans Act Program Regulations
(6/15) – The U.S. Administration for Community Living is seeking input on proposed updates to the regulations for its Older Americans Act programs. Increased understanding of the impact of SDOH is reshaping healthcare, and updates are needed to alignregulations to the current statute and to reflect the needs of today’s older adults.
HHS: HHS Issues Advisory on Mental Health Symptoms and Conditions Related to Long COVID (6/21) – HHS, through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration issued a new advisory today on Identification and Management of Mental Health Symptoms and Conditions Associated with Long COVID, which notes that social determinants of health can further contribute to the negative impact of COVID-19 and Long COVID, for certain groups.
HHS: HHS Study Shows In-Hospital Delivery-related Maternal Death Rates Decreased More than Half from 2008 to 2021 (6/22) - A large nationally representative study shows in-hospital delivery-related maternal mortality rates improved 57% between 2008 and 2021, despite identified increases in severe maternal morbidity (SMM).
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SDoH & Health Equity in the News
Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association: Systematic design and data-driven evaluation of social determinants of health ontology (SdoHO) (6/10) - To address the SDOH terminology gap and better embed relevant elements in advanced biomedical informatics, the authors propose an SDoH ontology (SDoHO), which represents fundamental SDoH factors and their relationships in a standardized and measurable way.
Health Data Management: SDOH decoded: Understanding how social determinants impact patient care (6/13) - Technology tools are helping healthcare providers collect and analyze data related to social determinants, enabling them to understand patients’ needs and provide personalized care.
Skilled Nursing News: MDS Changes Could Have Ripple Effects on Nursing Home Readmissions, Citations (6/16) – CMS is instituting changes this year for the Minimum Data Sets, including a data collection process measure related to social determinants of health.
BusinessWire: The MolinaCares Accord Invests $1.5 Million to Launch Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging Program Addressing Social Determinants of Health for Seniors and People with Disabilities (6/20) - -The MolinaCares Accord, in conjunction with Molina Healthcare of Ohio, has given a $1.5 million grant to the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging to aid in the launch of the organization’s new Social Determinants of Health Accelerator Program.
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Spotlight on Maternal Health
Stat: Pregnancy-related death, like Tori Bowie’s, is a far too common occurrence among Black women (6/21) – While the tragic case of Tori Bowie has made headlines, experiences such as hers happen every day to Black and Brown women; more needs to be done to improve equitable care and outcomes.
CNN Health: To help tackle US maternal health crisis, more states extend Medicaid postpartum coverage (6/21) - Texas has joined a growing number of states extending the period in which new moms can qualify for Medicaid insurance after giving birth, offering coverage beyond the required 60 days postpartum to 12 months, after Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law House Bill 12.
RollCall: Mississippi community workers battle maternal mortality crisis (6/15) – Mississippi is working to reduce maternal mortality rates through a number of initiatives, including through community outreach groups and statewide training programs. But political forces have hamstrung broader efforts, like expanding Medicaid, and the real work is left to the community workers innovating on the front lines of the crisis.
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New Research and Reports
NEJM Catalyst: Scaling Primary Care Social Needs Screening and Referrals in New York City’s Safety-Net Health System
(6/14) - NYC Health + Hospitals implemented and scaled social needs screening and referrals starting in 2017 across primary care clinical sites. Implementing meaningful social needs screening and referrals requires a significant investment in creating screening workflows and in building key resources to meet patient needs.
American Cancer Society CA A Cancer Journal for Clinicians: Social determinants of health and US cancer screening interventions: A systematic review (6/17) – The authors of this study conducted a systematic review of US-based breast, cervical, colorectal, and lung cancer screening intervention studies to summarize how SDOH have been considered in interventions and relationships between SDOH and screening, finding that the objective of most interventions was to increase community demand and access to screening.
Diabetes: The Contribution of Social Needs factors to Racial Differences in Type 2 Diabetes (6/20) - Studies have attributed gaps in type 2 diabetes (T2D) between Black/African-American and White adults to socioeconomic factors. In this study, the authors quantified the contribution of social risk factors to racial gaps in T2D in 6 Kaiser Permanente health systems across the U.S., finding that if social risk factors of BAA patients were equal to White patients, the racial difference in T2D would be reduced by 11% in our population with access to health care.
American Journal of Perinatology: A Prospective Study of Social Needs Associated with Mental Health Among Postpartum Patients Living in Underserved Communities (6/20) – Authors found that postpartum individuals in underserved communities, social needs correlate with higher depression and anxiety screening scores. This highlights the need to address social needs to improve maternal mental health.
The Lancet Public Health: Social determinants of health and premature death among adults in the USA from 1999 to 2018: a national cohort study (June 2023): Authors studied the contribution of social determinants of health to racial and ethnic disparities in premature death, and found that unfavorable social determinants are associated with increased rates of premature death and contribute to differences between Black and White racial groups in premature all-cause mortality in the U.S. population.
Journal of General Internal Medicine: Relationship Between Unmet Social Needs and Care Access in a Veteran Cohort (June 2023) – In this study, authors merged survey data on unmet social needs with administrative data from the Veterans Health Administration Corporate Data Warehouse to predict care access outcomes, finding that a greater burden of unmet social needs may adversely impact care access.
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Upcoming Events
Aligning for Health & Member Events
- July 13 – Pittsburgh Business Times, “Bridge to Equity: Social Determinants of Health.” This event will break down walls and discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Pittsburgh region, featuring Aligning for Health member UPMC Health Plan.
- July 15 – findhelp, “An information session on Florida Medicaid's Approach to SDOH.” The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration is taking a unique approach to addressing Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) for Floridians. Join Aligning for Health member findhelp for this webinar as we share new requirements and opportunities for Community Based Organizations (CBOs) to foster partnerships new partnerships through Medicaid.
- December 4-6 – RISE and Aligning for Health, “Social Determinants of Health Policy Forum.” Aligning for Health is thrilled to be partnering with RISE for the Second Annual Social Determinants of Health Policy Forum this December, where we will convene leading policymakers with cross-sector practitioners to identify opportunities and advance policies that support stronger communities, better health, and solutions to address health and social needs.
Other Events
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SDoH Opportunities
May - October
Rolling Basis
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