The Association for Community Affiliated Plans, which represents 74 not-for-profit Safety Net Health Plans serving 22 million people across the country, is highlighting innovative research and programs aimed at addressing the non-clinical barriers to healthcare access and outcomes.
The Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP) has launched a new resource aimed at helping not-for-profit Safety Net Health Plans understand and take on non-clinical challenges and barriers to healthcare access and outcomes.
The ACAP Center for Social Determinants of Health Innovation offers resources, including policy reports, research and educational events, to help the nation's 74 health plans, who serve more than 22 million low-income people with complex healthcare needs through Medicare, Medicaid, marketplaces and other health coverage programs.
“Longstanding racial inequities cannot improve without meaningfully addressing the social factors underlying them,” Margaret A. Murray, ACAP's chief executive officer, said in a press release. “Safety Net Health Plans have worked in communities across the United States to address factors that shape their members’ health for decades."
Studies have shown that roughly 60% of health outcomes are caused by non-clinical factors, including physical and social environment, cultural concerns, economic and family issues and access to housing and health food.
"This new center creates unique opportunities to showcase what works, share that knowledge with others, and support a healthier future for people with low incomes, whose wellbeing has too often been held back by their environment,” Murray said.
Eric Wicklund is the associate content manager and senior editor for Innovation, Technology, and Pharma for HealthLeaders.