Welcome to this week’s edition of the Aligning for Health Social Determinants Updates. Please click the button below to see our newsletter which contains updates on how health care organizations are striving to meet health and social needs and invest in community health to improve health equity, notable links to research, data, and news related to health disparities and social determinants, and upcoming virtual events and opportunities.
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Aligning for Health Social Determinants Updates. Please click the button below to see our newsletter which contains updates on how health care organizations are striving to meet health and social needs and invest in community health to improve health equity, notable links to research, data, and news related to health disparities and social determinants, and upcoming virtual events and opportunities.
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Aligning for Health Social Determinants Updates. Please click the button below to see our newsletter which contains updates on how health care organizations are striving to meet health and social needs and invest in community health to improve health equity, notable links to research, data, and news related to health disparities and social determinants, and upcoming virtual events and opportunities.
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Aligning for Health Social Determinants Updates. Please click the button below to see our newsletter which contains updates on how health care organizations are striving to meet health and social needs and invest in community health to improve health equity, notable links to research, data, and news related to health disparities and social determinants, and upcoming virtual events and opportunities.
On March 20, 2023, Aligning for Health submitted comments in response to the Senate HELP Committee Request for Information on the drivers of the current health care workforce shortage. The Committee is seeking feedback to identify bipartisan solutions to remedy the nation’s health care workforce shortages and develop these ideas into legislation.
Identifying and addressing social needs and alleviating the impacts of social determinants of health is critical to improving health outcomes and reducing disparities. Clinicians play a critical role in identifying and helping to develop care plans and make referrals to address social needs. However, clinicians need support in integrating screenings and referrals into workflows without adding burden, and in building relationships and partnerships with critical community connectors that are best suited to assist patients in meeting their social needs.
In our comments, we urge Congress to consider the vital role of community-based providers and entities in bridging gaps in the health care workforce and providing necessary services to address health-related social needs at the community level. Specifically, we provide recommendations around leveraging community health workers to support and enable care in communities, considerations for eligibility and enrollment supports for social safety net programs, and bolstering support for community-based organizations to address the health and social needs of communities.
To read our comments, click here or see below:
Aligning for Health - Senate HELP Committee Workforce RFI - 3.20.23Welcome to this week’s edition of the Aligning for Health Social Determinants Updates. Please click the button below to see our newsletter which contains updates on how health care organizations are striving to meet health and social needs and invest in community health to improve health equity, notable links to research, data, and news related to health disparities and social determinants, and upcoming virtual events and opportunities.
On Thursday, March 9, President Biden released his Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) budget request. The budget proposes $144.3 billion in discretionary and $1.7 trillion in mandatory budget authority for the Department of Health and Human Services for FY 2024.
The budget demonstrates the Administration’s commitment to areas such as health equity and maternal health, among other priority areas. According to HHS, “The budget also works to secure a healthier, more vibrant future for all Americans by investing in expanded coverage and access to care; addressing the needs of those most at risk, including Indian country, children, families, and seniors; growing our health workforce; and advancing science to improve health.”
Aligning for Health was pleased to see the inclusion of several key provisions related to SDOH, health equity, and maternal health in this budget request, including a $100 million request for the CDC for the Social Determinants of Health program. Through this particular request, CDC would continue to expand SDOH efforts by funding another round of Social Determinant Accelerator Plans to states, tribes, territories, and/or localities to develop new or implement and evaluate existing SDOH plans, including but not limited to, previously funded accelerator plans recipients, and building the evidence base through applied research, data collection, and surveillance.
For a full summary of the SDOH-related provisions included in the request, click here or see below:
AFH Summary - FY24 Presidents Budget Request - 3.10.23Aligning for Health submitted comments in response to the Request for Information regarding Accelerating the Adoption of Standards Related to Social Risk Factor Data within the recently proposed rule from CMS to advance interoperability and improve prior authorization processes. Through this RFI, CMS sought input on barriers to using industry standards and opportunities to accelerate the adoption of data collection standards related to social risk factor data, including exchange of information with community-based organizations.
Aligning for Health appreciates CMS’ continued efforts and commitment to ensuring providers and payers participating in federal health care programs can better understand and coordinate to address individuals’ health and social needs.
We applaud CMS and other federal partners’ focus on social risk factors and in identifying policies to address systemic drivers of health. We focus our comments on the importance of encouraging greater identification, documentation, and exchange of social risk and social needs data by removing barriers and by providing education and incentives for providers and payers. Beyond this, we encourage CMS to also expand incentives and ensure supports are in place for entities to provide access to and make referrals to available resources and to address identified social needs, as appropriate.
To read our comments, click here or see below:
Aligning for Health - CMS RFI on Social Risk Factors - 3.13.23Welcome to this week’s edition of the Aligning for Health Social Determinants Updates. Please click the button below to see our newsletter which contains updates on how health care organizations are striving to meet health and social needs and invest in community health to improve health equity, notable links to research, data, and news related to health disparities and social determinants, and upcoming virtual events and opportunities.
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Aligning for Health Social Determinants Updates. Please click the button below to see our newsletter which contains updates on how health care organizations are striving to meet health and social needs and invest in community health to improve health equity, notable links to research, data, and news related to health disparities and social determinants, and upcoming virtual events and opportunities.
