Bruce
Japsen Senior Contributor
Dec 27, 2018
TWEET
THIS
- half of the nation’s public
housing authorities are “pursuing health investments in housing.”
- only 13% of large public
housing authorities have “dedicated housing-health staff members,”
The nation’s public
housing authorities are seeking closer links to health insurers and medical
care providers to address social determinants of health.
The
Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA) says half of the nation’s public housing
authorities are “pursuing health investments in housing.” Yet only 13% of large public housing
authorities have “dedicated housing-health staff members,”research from the council and
its partner, the Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation, shows.
“Recent research shows
that housing is both a social determinant of health and a platform for other
services that improve life outcomes,” Council of Large Public Housing
Authorities executive director Sunia Zaterman said. “What we’re learning from
our members and the other public housing authorities that responded to our
survey is that partnerships with the health care sector are the most effective
way for public housing authorities to serve the health needs of their
residents.”
CLPHA has 67 members across the country
including housing authorities in Los Angeles, New York, Houston, Chicago and
cities throughout the U.S.
The interest by public
housing authorities in these new relationships comes as the nation’s largest
health insurers including Aetna, UnitedHealth Group, Anthem, Humana and Cigna
are investing hundreds of millions of dollars to address social determinants of
health whether it be housing, medicine or even food to reduce health care
costs. As one example, UnitedHealth has invested $384 million to help build
3,400 units of affordable housing in more than 16 states since 2011, the
insurer said last month at its annual investor day meeting in New York.
By investing in new
ways to address social determinants of health, insurers say they are working to
make sure patients are getting healthcare in the right place, at the right time
and in the right amount. A monthly rent payment can be a less expensive way to
take care of a patient and prevent a costly hospital stay in the future that
could costs thousands of dollars a day.
Public housing
authorities stand ready to work with the healthcare industry, offering their
expertise and knowledge of the residents in their units. “We’re housers with
expertise in the management and operation of affordable housing for low-income
families and seniors, but we are not experts in the complexities of health care
service delivery,” Zaterman said. “That’s why nearly all of the public housing
authorities we surveyed work with a partner to provide health services. Most
would do more if they had the funding and resources to commit to their health
partnerships.”
The Council of Large
Public Housing Authorities this fall announced a
project with UnitedHealth Group’s UnitedHealthcare Community & State and
the Corporation for Supportive Housing that is designed to improve health by
“aligning housing and health systems to improve health outcomes of Medicaid
beneficiaries being served through managed care and living in federally
assisted housing,” the council said. The
effort, which is supported by grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,
will focus on five communities: Columbus and Akron, Ohio; Houston and Austin,
Texas; and the Seattle/King County area of Washington state.
“Our survey showed
that only 8 percent of public housing authorities are partnering with managed
care organizations to meet the health care needs of their residents, but we
know that there is much more interest in this type of collaboration,” Zaterman
said.
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