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Comments & Letters2023-03-08T19:57:43+00:00

The Healthy Affordable Housing Act

Aligning for Health thanks you for introducing the Healthy Affordable Housing Act (HR 8186), which would direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to establish a grant and loan program that provides amounts to eligible entities to use to develop, create, or preserve qualifying affordable dwelling units in neighborhoods that are indicated by the Secretary to have shortages of affordable housing.

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May 9th, 2024|

Improving Social Determinants of Health Act of 2024 Letter of Support

Aligning for Health is proud to support the introduction of S. 3847/ H.R. 7481, the Improving Social Determinants of Health Act of 2024, which would authorize the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to create a program to improve health outcomes, reduce health inequities, and improve capacity of public health agencies and community organizations to address social determinants of health. Additionally, this legislation would authorize $100 million annually for the CDC to maintain and grow relevant programs.

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March 26th, 2024|

AFH Applauds the Release of the White House SDOH Playbook

WASHINGTON, DC (November 17, 2023) – Aligning for Health, a leading advocacy coalition focused on improving health through improved coordination of services addressing health and social needs, applauds the White House for publishing the first ever U.S. Playbook to Address Social Determinants of Health. Aligning for Health has long advocated for a comprehensive national plan to address the social determinants of health, through both its engagement with the Administration and bipartisan legislation in Congress — and the playbook represents important progress toward this goal.

Aligning for Health appreciated the opportunity to work with the Administration in developing this pivotal shift in how the U.S. perceives and addresses the nexus of health care and social. We look forward to continuing to support the White House in the implementation of this plan.  Key shared priorities in the plan include (1) enabling appropriate data collection; (2) supporting flexible funding to support health and social need integration; and (3) supporting innovative organizations facilitating this work. The creation of an SDOH Data Working Group, guidance on improving health-related social needs (HRSNs), and integrating supports for underserved populations will advance progress towards better coordinated care and also drive evidence supporting the value of these interventions.

“The release of this Playbook and agency resources is the product of years of work to enhance the efficacy of our health system, improve cost savings for individuals and the federal government, and provide people with the care they deserve,” said Aligning for Health chair Krista Drobac. “We look forward to supporting the Administration to change how we collectively support the health and social needs of Americans at the federal, state, and local level.

Building on this historic announcement, Aligning for Health and RISE will be hosting the White House at the SDOH Policy Forum on December 5 and 6 in Washington, D.C. The conference will also feature bipartisan conversations on how new investments in social needs can increase the government’s return on investment in health and social service programs, as well as improve health outcomes for some of our most vulnerable patients.

Click here for our press release.

 

November 17th, 2023|

AFH Submits Comments on Proposed Physician Fee Schedule

Aligning for Health submitted comments in response CMS’s recently proposed rule from CMS to add a Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Risk Assessment to Medicare’s Annual Wellness Visit (AWV), which acts as a no-cost annual physician exam for beneficiaries. Pending the outcome of the SDOH Risk Assessment, CMS is also proposing partnerships with community-based organizations to provide Community Health Integration (CHI) and Principal Illness Navigation (PIN) services to beneficiaries.

“Aligning for Health strongly supports the addition of an SDOH Risk Assessment as an optional, additional element of the AWV. Identifying social needs as part of the AWV will allow a practitioner to concurrently evaluate all health and social needs and to work with the beneficiary, consistent with their goals and preferences, to develop a comprehensive plan of care to address any identified needs.”

“Aligning for Health applauds CMS for providing sustainable funding to better connect the health and social services sectors and ensure that funding can flow where the referrals are going to support CHI and PIN services. These investments to connect health care entities and social services organizations can help to reimburse CHWs and CBOs for their time and resources and understand the true cost of, and where such organizations are successful in, addressing basic needs.”

To read our comments, click here or see below:

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September 18th, 2023|

AFH Submits Comments in Response to the Senate HELP Committee Workforce RFI

On March 20, 2023, Aligning for Health submitted comments in response to the Senate HELP Committee Request for Information on the drivers of the current health care workforce shortage. The Committee is seeking feedback to identify bipartisan solutions to remedy the nation’s health care workforce shortages and develop these ideas into legislation.

Identifying and addressing social needs and alleviating the impacts of social determinants of health is critical to improving health outcomes and reducing disparities. Clinicians play a critical role in identifying and helping to develop care plans and make referrals to address social needs. However, clinicians need support in integrating screenings and referrals into workflows without adding burden, and in building relationships and partnerships with critical community connectors that are best suited to assist patients in meeting their social needs.

In our comments, we urge Congress to consider the vital role of community-based providers and entities in bridging gaps in the health care workforce and providing necessary services to address health-related social needs at the community level. Specifically, we provide recommendations around leveraging community health workers to support and enable care in communities, considerations for eligibility and enrollment supports for social safety net programs, and bolstering support for community-based organizations to address the health and social needs of communities.

To read our comments, click here or see below:

Aligning for Health - Senate HELP Committee Workforce RFI - 3.20.23
March 21st, 2023|

AFH Submits Comments on CMS RFI on Social Risk Factor Data

Aligning for Health submitted comments in response to the Request for Information regarding Accelerating the Adoption of Standards Related to Social Risk Factor Data within the recently proposed rule from CMS to advance interoperability and improve prior authorization processes. Through this RFI, CMS sought input on barriers to using industry standards and opportunities to accelerate the adoption of data collection standards related to social risk factor data, including exchange of information with community-based organizations.

Aligning for Health appreciates CMS’ continued efforts and commitment to ensuring providers and payers participating in federal health care programs can better understand and coordinate to address individuals’ health and social needs.

We applaud CMS and other federal partners’ focus on social risk factors and in identifying policies to address systemic drivers of health. We focus our comments on the importance of encouraging greater identification, documentation, and exchange of social risk and social needs data by removing barriers and by providing education and incentives for providers and payers. Beyond this, we encourage CMS to also expand incentives and ensure supports are in place for entities to provide access to and make referrals to available resources and to address identified social needs, as appropriate.

To read our comments, click here or see below:

Aligning for Health - CMS RFI on Social Risk Factors - 3.13.23
March 14th, 2023|

Aligning for Health Comments on CMS Make Your Voice Heard RFI

Aligning for Health submitted comments in response to the CMS “Make Your Voice Heard: Promoting Efficiency and Equity Within CMS Programs” Request for Information (RFI).

Through this RFI, CMS is seeking to better understand individual and community-level burdens, health-related social needs, and opportunities for improvement that can reduce disparities and promote efficiency and innovation across our programs. CMS requested information related to strategies that successfully address drivers of health inequities, including opportunities to address social determinants of health and challenges underserved communities face in accessing comprehensive, quality care.

Aligning for Health supports many of the steps that the Biden-Harris Administration has taken to prioritize equity for all, including through initiatives to address social determinants of health. Our comments focused on questions posed in the RFI as it pertains to opportunities to better understand and address health-related social needs and to embed health equity into all CMS efforts, to include:

  • The need for coordination across sectors to reduce siloes and and better coordinate health care and social services;
  • Identifying and addressing social needs and disparities through improved data collection and standardization, screening for social needs, and assessment for if health-related social needs are being met;
  • Addressing data sharing within federal health programs and ensuring community-based organizations have the capacity to assist with connecting individuals to resources to meet their needs; and other areas.

To read our comments, click here or see below:

AFH - CMS Make Your Voice Heard RFI - FINAL
November 7th, 2022|

Aligning for Health Submits Comments to CMS RFI on Medicare Advantage

On August 31, Aligning for Health submitted comments in response to the CMS request for information (RFI) on the Medicare Advantage program.

Aligning for Health supports many of the steps that the Biden-Harris Administration has taken to prioritize equity for all, including through initiatives to address social determinants of health (SDOH). In our response, we provide comments to the specific questions posed in the RFI as it pertains to opportunities to address social determinants of health to advance health equity within the Medicare Advantage program.

To view the full letter, click here or see below:

Aligning for Health - CMS RFI on Medicare Advantage - FINAL
September 1st, 2022|

Aligning for Health Comments on HHS RFI on Strengthening Primary Health Care

On August 1, Aligning for Health Submitted comments in response to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) request for information on the HHS Initiative to Strengthen Primary Health Care.

Aligning for Health supports the many steps that the Biden-Harris Administration has taken to prioritize equity for all, including through initiatives to address social determinants of health (SDOH). Comments were made in response to specific questions posed in the RFI as it pertains to the intersection of primary health care and SDOH in improving overall health and wellbeing. Specifically, Aligning for Health highlighted innovative initiatives from its members to address social determinants of health in the populations they serve, and outlined common barriers to addressing health and wellbeing, such as barriers to effective cross-sector coordination and partnership. Aligning for Health also proposed several recommendations for HHS to consider as it moves forward in this work, such as advancing policies and strategies that would help to coordinate eligibility and enrollment processes for cross-sector programs, working to improve the health of individuals by taking steps to address screening for social needs within primary care visits, and increasing data sharing.

To read the full comment letter, click here or see below:

Aligning for Health - HHS Initiative on Primary Health Care RFI - 8.1.22
August 2nd, 2022|

Stakeholder Groups Urge Continued Action on SDOH Legislation

Aligning for Health joined payers, providers, community-based organizations, and organizations representing cities, counties, and other local entities in a letter today thanking House Energy & Commerce Committee Chair Pallone and Ranking Member McMorris Rodgers for their continued leadership on addressing social determinants of health and health equity.

The letter further encourages the Committee leaders to continue to advance and pass into law important social determinants of health legislation that will empower organizations and communities across the country to work across sectors to foster partnerships, coordinate care and services, share data, and leverage available resources to drive improved and equitable outcomes and that would catalyze federal cross-sector opportunities to address social determinants.

 

SDOH Sign-On Letter to EC May 2022 - with signers
May 27th, 2022|

Aligning for Health submits comments in response to White House OSTP RFI

Aligning for Health submitted comments in response to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) request for information on Strengthening Community Health Through Technology.

Digital health technologies – which the request for information defines as tools that improve health or enable better health care delivery by connecting people with other people, with data or with health information – are critical aspects of successful initiatives to address health and social needs.

As such, Aligning for Health provided feedback on questions related to the tools, training and infrastructure needs of community-based organizations to utilize digital health technologies, and to information about how digital health technologies have or could be used in community-based settings to achieve health equity.

To read our comments, click here or see below:

AFH - White House OSTP RFI - 31 March 2022
March 30th, 2022|

Aligning for Health Submits Comments to the Healthy Future Task Force

Aligning for Health submitted comments to the Healthy Future Task Force, Security Subcommittee on its recent request for information on pandemic preparedness, public health, and supply chains. The goal of the Healthy Future Task Force is to build on Republican health policy goals and craft patient-focused agendas for the future.

Specifically, Aligning for Health commented on questions related to addressing social determinants of health and maternal health as part of a broader public health strategy.

Generally, our comments fall into several themes –

  • Reduce silos between existing efforts funded by governments and encourage more collaboration.
  • Improve the screening and collection of social needs data to improve interventions and evaluate outcomes.
  • Enhance coordination between government and non-government organizations working to address social needs through shared regional networks that support coordination, information sharing and referrals.

To read our comments, click here or see below:

AFH - Healthy Future Task Force Security Subcommittee RFI - 30 March 2022
March 30th, 2022|

Aligning for Health submits comments on CMS MA and Part D proposed rule

Aligning for Health submitted comments in response to the proposal for Improving Experiences for Dually Eligible Individuals: Standardizing Housing, Food Insecurity, and Transportation Questions on Health Risk Assessments (§ 422.101) within the CMS Contract Year 2023 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Programs.

Aligning for Health supports CMS’ proposal to require Special Needs Plans (SNPs) to include one or more standardized questions on the topics of housing stability, food insecurity, and access to transportation as part of Health Risk Assessments. We believe that these questions will help SNPs gather the necessary information to inform the development and implementation of each enrollee’s comprehensive individualized plan of care. Further, information from social needs screenings should be used to connect enrollees to covered services or resources to help meet their needs, if consistent with the enrollee’s goals and preferences.

To read the letter, click here or see below:

AFH - MA Part D Rule - Final
March 7th, 2022|

Aligning for Health submits comments on CMS Advance Notice for CY2023

Aligning for Health submitted comments in response to the CMS Advance Notice of Methodological Changes for CY2023 for Medicare Advantage Capitation Rates and Part C and Part D Payment Policies.

Aligning for Health was pleased to see CMS propose the following potential new measure concepts and methodological enhancements for future years in the Advance Notice and provided recommendations for CMS to consider in developing these concepts:

  • Measure of Contracts’ Assessment of Beneficiary Needs (Part C), which would be developed by CMS and would assess whether a contract’s enrollees have had their health-related social needs assessed, using a standardized screening tool; and
  • Screening and Referral to Services for Social Needs (Part C), which is being developed by NCQA and would assess screening for unmet needs and referral to intervention for those who screened positive.

To read the letter, click here or see below:

AFH - CY23 Advance Notice Letter - Final
March 7th, 2022|

Aligning for Health submits comments to Senate HELP Committee leaders in response to PREVENT Pandemics Act request for comments

On Friday, February 4, Aligning for Health sent a letter to Senate HELP Committee leadership in response to request for comments on the discussion draft of the Prepare for and Respond to Existing Viruses, Emerging New Threats, and Pandemics Act (PREVENT Pandemics Act).

Aligning for Health strongly supports the Committee’s inclusion of Section 201, Addressing Social Determinants of Health and Improving Health Outcomes, in the discussion draft. In its comments, Aligning for Health encouraged the Committee to consider including bipartisan legislation that would further promote interoperable network development and data sharing; development of evidence-based approaches to coordinate services and improve outcomes; and strengthen capacity to identify and address disparities across sectors.

To read the letter, click here.

February 7th, 2022|

More than 50 organizations send letter to Senate HELP Committee requesting the inclusion of the LINC to Address Social Needs Act in the PREVENT Pandemics Act legislative package

Today, 54 organizations sent a letter to Senate HELP Committee Chair Murray (D-WA) and Ranking Member Burr (R-NC) in response to the request for comments on the Prepare for and Respond to Existing Viruses, Emerging New Threats, and Pandemics Act (PREVENT Pandemics Act). This bipartisan legislation is focused on strengthening the nation’s public health and medical preparedness and response systems in the wake of COVID-19.

Section 201 of the PREVENT Pandemics Act discussion draft focused on addressing social determinants of health and improving health outcomes. To strengthen this section of the bill, this stakeholder letter asked the committee to consider including the bipartisan LINC to Address Social Needs Act (S. 509/H.R. 6072) in the final legislative text of the PREVENT Pandemics Act.

While Section 201 of the draft includes elements of the LINC to Address Social Needs Act, including the entirety of this legislation would provide increased and dedicated funding to support cross-sector, interoperable efforts to coordinate and address health-related social needs for those most vulnerable to the impacts of the current and future pandemics.

The letter can be found here and below:

AFH Stakeholder Letter - PREVENT Pandemics Act - 4 Feb 2022
February 4th, 2022|

Aligning for Health Submits Comments to the Congressional SDOH Caucus RFI

Aligning for Health was pleased to submit comments in response to the Congressional Social Determinants of Health Caucus request for information regarding challenges and opportunities in addressing social determinants of health.

Aligning for Health commented on specific SDOH challenges that most impact health, and how these areas have changed or been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic; prominent barriers to addressing SDOH and innovative examples, both from Aligning for Health members and other organizations, of programs that can offer solutions; and the role that coordinated networks can play in cross-sector coordination and data sharing.

We also provided recommendations on how Congress can leverage existing opportunities to improve coordination and alignment between health and social services organizations; existing legislative approaches that seek to improve coordination, capacity and evaluation of SDOH initiatives; and policies and strategies to better coordinate eligibility and enrollment processes for cross-sector programs.

To read the full response, see below or click here.

Aligning for Health - SDOH Caucus RFI Response - 21 Sept - Final
September 22nd, 2021|

Aligning for Health Endorses the Care That’s Fair Act

Aligning for Health submitted a letter of support to Reps. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC) and John Joyce (R-PA) for their bipartisan bill, the Care That’s Fair Act of 2021 (H.R. 4554). This bill seeks to empower states to utilize medical claims, clinical, and social data to address racial disparities, social determinants of health, and maternal and infant mortality.

The Care That’s Fair Act will provide states with the necessary resources to effectively measure Medicaid health care outcomes to better address critical health care needs for beneficiaries. As maternal mortality rates rise higher than most developed countries and disproportionately impact minority populations, our obesity rates continue to grow, and the proportion of Americans reporting fair or poor health continues to expand, this legislation comes at an important time. Aligning for Health agrees that empowering states to harness essential Medicaid claims and clinical data will help identify where social determinants and health disparities exist, which can then be leveraged into action to address these disparities at their root cause.

To read the full letter, click here.

September 8th, 2021|

Aligning for Health submits comments in response to OMB Request for Information on advancing equity

Aligning for Health submitted comments and recommendations in response to the Request for Information (RFI) published by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), entitled “Methods and Leading Practices for Advancing Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through Government.”

The purpose of this RFI was to seek input from a broad array of stakeholders on available methods, approaches, and tools that could assist OMB in identifying effective methods for assessing whether agency policies and actions equitably serve all eligible individuals and communities, particularly those that are currently and historically underserved. Aligning for Health was pleased to provide comment in response to several of the questions posed in the RFI, highlighted below:

Equity Assessments and Strategies

As OMB notes in the Request for Information, advancing equity will require federal agencies to implement new approaches to assess whether policy and programs are effective in advancing equity. As part of this effort, we believe that it is important for agencies such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to improve the collection and reporting of standardized social needs data and encourage cross-sector coordination and data sharing across organizations in the health and social service sectors.

Comprehensively documenting social risk and social needs data and promoting greater exchange of such data will ensure payers and providers delivering health and non-health care to individuals have a more comprehensive view of the factors affecting an individuals’ wellbeing as well as the disparities contributing to health inequities. However, collecting social needs and risk factor data has proven to be a continuous challenge. Such data is not always routinely or systematically collected across the health care system and often is not collected in a standardized way, making it difficult to integrate into health records, to share across coordinated entities, or to use for purposes of risk adjustment.

Aligning for Health recommends OMB work with the HHS, and CMS, to encourage and incentivize greater identification, documentation, and exchange of social risk and social needs data across its programs by removing barriers and by providing education and incentives.

Moreover, the siloed way in which health care, public health, and social services are paid for and administered has limited cross-sector coordination and data sharing across organizations in the health and social service sectors. Breaking down the siloes and incentivizing connectivity and coordination between programs and systems will help to ensure that they are most effective in improving health and wellbeing. Statewide or regional efforts to connect health care organizations and CBOs for purposes of electronic referrals, outcomes tracking, electronic resource directories, and care coordination help to bridge some of these gaps.

Aligning for Health recommends OMB work with HHS to continue to promote, and with Congress to catalyze, further development of such statewide or regional, integrated networks.

Barrier and Burden Reduction

Improving coordination of federal programs and services is critical to removing certain barriers faced by individuals in accessing needed benefits and services. States, local governments, health care providers, payers, social services providers, community-based organizations (CBOs), and others are increasingly seeking to partner to better coordinate care and services.

However, one of the greatest challenges to high-impact interventions is the difficulty in navigating and coordinating fragmented and complex programs aimed at addressing health care needs, food insecurity, housing instability, workforce supports, and transportation reliability, among others. In particular, the siloed funding, data systems, and administration of many of these programs at the state and local, and nongovernmental levels create barriers to effective coordination and partnership.

Aligning for Health recommends OMB work with agencies to create, to the extent possible under current law, opportunities for states and local governments to develop strategies to improve cross-sector coordination of programs and services. Additionally, we support the President’s fiscal year 2022 funding request to increase funding for the CDC’s Social Determinants of Health program from $3 million to $153 million. Finally, we encourage OMB to consider advancing policies and strategies that would help to coordinate eligibility and enrollment processes for cross-sector programs.

Procurement and Contracting

OMB’s Request for Information notes that federal agencies should assess opportunities to invest in underserved individuals and communities, including by promoting business diversity and resiliency and by providing opportunities for underserved individuals and communities. As federal, state and local government agencies continue to invest in cross-sector strategies to address both health and social needs of individuals and to advance equity, many have sought to leverage blending and braiding of program and operational funding.

Aligning for Health supports additional flexibility for braiding and blending of programmatic funding, where appropriate, to support innovative, integrated program designs. Moreover, it is important for federal agencies to consider ways to ensure that downstream uses of federal funding maximize competitive contracting or participation opportunities for underserved communities, or business and entities representing underserved populations.

To read the full comment letter, click here.

July 7th, 2021|

Aligning for Health sends letter urging the House Energy & Commerce Committee to advance the Social Determinants Accelerator Act

On Thursday, June 24, the House Energy & Commerce Committee, Health Subcommittee held a landmark legislative hearing entitled “Empowered By Data: Legislation to Advance Equity and Public Health.” The hearing featured 13 bills to advance health equity and public health, including the Social Determinants Accelerator Act of 2021 (H.R. 2503).

Today, Aligning for Health sent a letter to the leaders of the House Energy & Commerce Committee and Health Subcommittee, thanking them for their leadership in holding this hearing to discuss and consider important legislation related to social determinants of health.

As a coalition committed to improving health and wellbeing by addressing individual and community social needs, Aligning for Health also expressed support for the forward momentum towards passage of the Social Determinants Accelerator Act of 2021. Included in the letter is an updated endorsement list – which now totals well over 100 leading health and social services organizations who actively support passage of the legislation.

Aligning for Health urged the Subcommittee to consider and advance this important piece of legislation, which will empower communities across the country to work across sectors to share data, leverage available resources, foster partnerships, and coordinate care to drive improved and equitable outcomes.

To read the full letter, click here.

***

If your organization would like to add its name to the full list of organizations supporting this bill, click here. A recording of the hearing can be found here, and a summary of the hearing can be found here. Aligning for Health also submitted a Statement for the Record, which can be found here.

July 6th, 2021|

Aligning for Health Submits Statement for the Record for House Energy & Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Health Hearing on SDOH

On Thursday, June 24, the House Energy & Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Health held a legislative hearing entitled “Empowered by Data: Legislation to Advance Equity and Public Health.” Aligning for Health is thrilled that the Subcommittee convened this hearing to examine the importance of legislation to advance equity and public health.

We strongly support the Committee’s efforts to assess and discuss what actionable steps Congress can take now to improve access to, and the coordination of, public health, health care and social services. Improving data sharing and the delivery and coordination of care across public health, health care, and social service sectors will help to address upstream social factors, address unmet social needs, and improve health outcomes for all.

Aligning for Health submitted a statement for the record to the Committee outlining how social determinants impact health outcomes and drive health inequities, and the importance of cross-sector coordination and how bipartisan bills such as the Social Determinants Accelerator Act (H.R. 2503) can help address this. We also outline the importance of collecting, reporting, and exchange of health and social needs data, and how legislation such as the Leveraging Integrated Networks in Communities (LINC) to Address Social Needs Act (S. 509) would provide funding to states to catalyze, establish, and augment efforts to better connect and share information across sectors.

To read the full statement for the record, click here.

June 24th, 2021|

AFH Comments on CMS Request for Information regarding Accelerating the Adoption of Standards Related to Social Risk Data

Aligning for Health was pleased to provide comment on the Request for Information regarding Accelerating the Adoption of Standards Related to Social Risk Data within the recently proposed rule to reduce provider and patient burden by improving prior authorization processes and promoting patients’ electronic access to health information.

Documenting social risk and social needs data in health records and promoting greater exchange of such data will ensure payers and providers delivering care to an individual have a more comprehensive view of the factors affecting the individuals’ health. Moreover, social risk and social needs data can be leveraged to provide insights on best practices and drivers of health disparities, and for risk adjusting payment or quality measurement. This documentation is the foundational first step toward care models that drive better alignment between health and social needs to improve patient outcomes. We believe that the outcome-focused care delivery systems of the future must rest on a data foundation that provides health organizations with meaningful information about both health and social risks.

Therefore, we agree that it is important to encourage and incentivize greater identification, documentation, and exchange of social risk and social needs data by removing barriers and by providing education and incentives for providers and payers.

Read the full comment letter here.

January 5th, 2021|

Letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman on Health Disparities

On July 8th, Aligning for Health sent a letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley on health disparities. AFH strongly supports the Committee’s efforts to assess and discuss what actionable steps Congress can take to improve access to, and the coordination of, public health, health care, and social services both during and after the public health emergency subsides.

AFH noted that the Social Determinants Accelerator Act is a bipartisan, bicameral proposal that has already been introduced and referred for consideration by the Senate Finance Committee and if passed, would take important steps toward improving the health of families on Medicaid.

Our full letter is featured below.

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July 27th, 2020|

AFH Response to HELP Committee Call for Ideas On Health Care System Resiliency

Aligning for Health submitted comments to Senator Lamar Alexander’s call for ideas on how to make the health care system more resilient. Our response is featured below:

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July 10th, 2020|

AFH Letter to Senate Finance on Solutions to Improve Maternal Health

Aligning for Health sent a letter encouraging the Senate Finance Committee’s maternal health effort to consider options that address barriers impeding coordination between health and social service programs and the lack of comprehensive evidence around interventions focused on the social determinants of health.

Read the Letter to Senate Finance
March 23rd, 2020|

Broad Group of Organizations Send Letter to House Energy & Commerce Committee in Support of SDAA (H.R. 4004)

64 organizations representing a wide range of nonprofits, local governments, healthcare associations, and others have signed onto a letter to House Energy & Commerce Committee leaders expressing support for the Social Determinants Accelerator Act (H.R. 4004), and requesting the Committee hold a hearing on social determinants of health.

Press release
Letter to E&C
January 6th, 2020|

UNDERSTAND Act Letter of Support

Aligning for Health is proud to support the introduction of S. 1323, the Utilizing National Data, Effectively Reforming Standards and Tools, to Address Negative Determinants of Health (UNDERSTAND) Act, which would improve the collection of data related to the social determinants of health for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

Read Letter
June 17th, 2019|
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