Main Library
Despite major reports in 2019 and 2021 from National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) calling on the integration of social care into healthcare delivery, the lack of payment reform has stymied efforts by clinicians and healthcare systems to address social barriers to care and social determinants of health (SDOH), according to authors in a paper published in JAMA Health Forum.
Previous research has shown that comparable countries that spend more on social services versus healthcare services had better outcomes in infant mortality, life expectancy, and potential life-years lost, compared with the United States. Similarly, within the United States, those states with higher ratios of spending on social services and public health also had better outcomes in areas like obesity and mentally unhealthy days.