Health Affairs September 7, 2017
The debate about if and how to amend, repeal, or replace the Affordable Care Act has drawn attention to the central role that the Medicaid program plays in providing coverage and access to health care for millions of Americans. This central role positions Medicaid as an ideal platform on which to build an integrated system that simultaneously addresses health care and social needs.
Evidence has been building that social determinants of health have a bigger impact even than health care services on people’s health, functioning, and quality of life. But the United States, while arguably developing some of the world’s most powerful health care technologies, has been slower to systematically address social determinants of health. We spend more than any...