Highlights:
- The American Medical Association added to its newly enacted policies, urging healthcare payers to address the social determinants of health through their benefits packages. The policy, which AMA adopted during a Special Meeting of its House of Delegates, aims to supplement efforts clinical providers have already put forward in health equity and social determinants of health work, the organization said.
- AMA pointed to benefits policies from public payers like state Medicaid programs and Medicare Advantage that address social determinants of health. In 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expanded the scope of benefits for Medicare Advantage and Part D plans to include social care. Those benefits, which Medicare Advantage could roll out in the 2020 plan year, could run the gamut of meal delivery, rides to the grocery store, or a service that would make one’s home more conducive to healthy living. For example, Medicare Advantage could subsidize an air filter for an individual living with asthma.
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