Social Determinants of Health

Medicare Advantage (MA) plans have gained flexibility to offer a wide range of new supplemental benefits and to target benefits to members with specific conditions and individual need. This data insight provides an analysis of non-medical supplemental benefit growth since 2020, and focuses on the following: Special Supplemental Benefits for the Chronically Ill (SSBCI), which first became available in 2020 through the passage of the CHRONIC Care Act and a set of five Expanded Primarily Health-Related Benefits (EPHRB), which first became available in 2019 after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) expanded the definition of what could be considered “primarily health-related."

This report examines 40 Medicaid managed care contracts and 25 approved Section 1115 demonstrations. It identifies common themes across state approaches to incentivizing and requiring SDOH-related activities. CHCS also provides several additional policy recommendations for bolstering SDOH investment in state Medicaid offices.

The Spring 2018 issue of Generations, the quarterly journal of the American Society on Aging, is divided into three main parts. These three sections are building community partnerships, building business practices, and examples of successful CBO use of business acumen. This issue also has a special focus on how the social determinants of health influence the experience of older adults in the community.

This report from the Center for Oral Health highlights how an alarming number of Californians age 65 years and older are suffering from untreated tooth decay and poor oral health. This report includes a series of recommendations to eliminate barriers to care and improve oral health.

The Milbank Memorial Fund’s Reforming States Group, with the New York State Health Foundation, published an issue brief that is a practical guide for policymakers who want to know when and how states can use Medicaid to facilitate access to social services. It offers a road map of the legal authorities upon which policymakers can rely to extend Medicaid coverage to social interventions and provides examples of how Medicaid can be an important component in improving the health of populations.