While many are transitioning back into work life after an extended holiday break, many health payers are already kicking off new social determinants of health (SDOH) programs, funding and products.<\/p>\n
As highlighted by a recent Health Payers Intelligence<\/em> article<\/a>, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Health Plan and Blue Cross Blue Shield Rhode Island (BCBSRI) are already leading the way when it comes to SDOH in 2020.<\/p>\n UPMC Health Plan launched a new initiative called Social Impact, which will coordinate and expand innovation in addressing SDOH. The program will be housed within the UPMC Center for High-Value Health Care, which translates the work of UPMC\u2019s unique payer-provider laboratory into evidence-based practice and policy change for improving health care quality and efficiency.<\/p>\n \u201cThe goal of UPMC Social Impact is to help meet the health, socioeconomic, and environmental needs of UPMC Health Plan members and the communities we serve,\u201d said John Lovelace, president of government programs at UPMC Health Plan.<\/p>\n In addition, BCBSRI announced<\/a> that it will be investing $200,000 in grant funding in five organizations that work to improve access to affordable housing. These organizations both heighten societal awareness around housing stability issues and actively enable at-risk communities to access stable housing.<\/p>\n BCBSRI\u2019s decision to expand philanthropic giving to include housing followed the recent release of the\u00a0RI Life Index,\u00a0a new data resource focused on life factors, or social determinants of health (SDoH), which influence health and well-being. Specifically, the RI Life Index found availability of, and access to, safe and affordable housing is a significant concern and challenge for many Rhode Islanders.<\/p>\n As we highlighted<\/a> late last year, SDOH was a major focus for payers in 2019, and it will continue to take hold in 2020 \u2013 as payers seek out innovative ways to enhance population health and drive down overall costs. The right data management solutions can help advance these efforts this year.<\/p>\n For example, IMAT Solutions\u2019 robust health data management platform helps payers to better align claims and clinical systems to inform and drive new SDOH and population health initiatives, as well as help to measure the outcomes of these efforts. Learn more\u00a0here.<\/a><\/p>\n