Feb
11, 2020 Bruce Japsen Senior Contributor Healthcare
I write about
healthcare business and policy
CVS Health will
increase investments in affordable housing to address social determinants of
health as insurers intensify strategies to reduce costs and improve outcomes
beyond covering traditional medical treatments.
This year, CVS Health
and its Aetna health insurance unit will invest $75 million in affordable
housing in several communities on top of $67 million invested in 2019 in
affordable housing that was used to “create more than 2,200 affordable homes
with supportive services for individuals and families across 24 cities in six
states,” the company said Tuesday.
CVS Health and rival
health insurers that include UnitedHealth Group and Anthem are increasingly
investing in an array of services and capital projects to address social
determinants from food insecurity and loneliness to homelessness. Many of these
health plans are also paying for an array of services from food and nutrition
to housing to make sure patients are getting the right care in the right place
and at the right time. And by paying for these new benefits, insurers see cost
savings if more expensive hospital care or other adverse health outcomes are
avoided down the road.
“Providing affordable
housing options to people who are facing significant challenges can be their
first step on a path to better health,” Karen Lynch, CVS Health’s executive
vice president and president of Aetna said. “However, we understand that more
support is often needed. That is why we work with community organizations to
provide access to services such as independent living skills, cooking and
nutrition, financial literacy, health information classes, resident outreach
and engagement, client centered treatment plans and social support.”
CVS, which bought
Aetna in 2018, said the two companies have invested more than $1 billion in
affordable housing and related investments since 1997 that have resulted in
“the building and renovation of over 93,000 affordable rental units.”
CVS said it has
invested more than $16o million in California over the last two decades and “nearly
$50 million in the past two years alone,” said Kristen Miranda, president of
CVS’ Aetna unit’s California market.
As one example, CVS
cited a partnership with CREA that
will close this month that will involve an $8.1 million “commitment to finance
the development of 85 affordable housing units in collaboration with the East LA Proprietary Community Corporation and New Directions for Veterans. There will be 63
units for those who are homeless that include 44 specifically for veterans.
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