News Report | March 25, 2018
Payers Approaches To Addressing Social Determinants Vary
Approximately 80% of payers use one or more methods to identify and address social determinants of health, while 18.9% do not have programs to identify consumers with social service needs or refer consumers to community-based resources. The approaches used by payers vary—about 42% of payers integrate referrals to community-based social service programs and resources; 33.7% integrate consumer medical information with consumer financial, census, and geographic data; and 31.1% offer a “social needs” assessment along with health risk assessments.
Social determinants of health are defined as non-medical social service needs that affect consumer health . . .