January 6, 2020
| The Honorable Frank Pallone Chair Committee on Energy and Commerce 2125 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 | The Honorable Greg Walden Ranking Member Committee on Energy and Commerce 2125 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 |
| The Honorable Anna Eshoo Chair Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Health 2322 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 | The Honorable Michael Burgess Ranking Member Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Health 2322 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 |
Dear Chairman Pallone, Ranking Member Walden, Chairman Eshoo, and Ranking Member Burgess:
As you know, economic and social conditions have a powerful impact on our health and wellness. Stable housing, reliable transportation, and access to healthy foods are all factors that can make a difference in the prevention and management of many health conditions like diabetes, asthma and heart disease.
As organizations committed to improving health and wellbeing by addressing individual and community social needs, we write to express our support for passage of the Social Determinants Accelerator Act (H.R. 4004). We urge the Committee to hold a hearing to discuss current challenges and opportunities in addressing social determinants of health, including H.R. 4004.
The Social Determinants Accelerator Act will help states and communities devise strategies to better leverage existing programs and authorities to improve the health and wellbeing of those participating in Medicaid. The legislation will provide planning grants and targeted technical assistance to communities to develop and design innovative, evidence-based approaches to coordinate health and social services – with the ultimate goal of improving health outcomes and cost-effectiveness. The legislation also encourages improvements in cross-sector information exchange, allowing for greater coordination and accountability.
In addition to local-level leadership, the federal inter-agency technical advisory council created by the Act would identify key learnings and best practices, allowing for the scaling and replication of effective approaches, and facilitate a national dialogue around barriers to success of these initiatives.
Taken together, these elements will address the complexity that often stymies innovative cross-sector efforts or limits the scope and scalability of initiatives at the state and local level. We believe that the Social Determinants Accelerator Act is a critical step to overcome these challenges and move the ball forward. It will provide state, local and tribal governments with additional capacity and support to incubate innovative strategies – and the entire nation will benefit from the results of their effort.
Thank you for your leadership and commitment to addressing social determinants of health to improve the well-being of our country’s most vulnerable populations and maximize coordination across important safety net programs.
Sincerely,
Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors Acelero Learning
Aligning for Health AMGA
America Forward
American Hospital Association America’s Essential Hospitals
America’s Health Insurance Plans
America’s Promise Alliance
Association of American Medical Colleges
Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness
Aurora Institute
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
Children’s Hospital Association
Citizen Schools
City Year Inc.
The Community Transportation Association of America Corporation for Supportive Housing
Council on Social Work Education
Early Learning Alliance
Enterprise Community Partners
Forum for Youth Investment
Green & Healthy Homes Initiative
GreenLight Fund
Healthcare Leadership Council
iMentor
Institute for Child Success
KidSucceed LLC
Let’s Grow Kids
LIFT, Inc
Local Initiatives Support Coalition
Lutheran Services in America
Maycomb Capital Community Outcomes Fund
Medical Group Management Association
National Alliance on Mental Illness
National Association of Accountable Care Organizations
National Association of Area Agencies on Aging
National Association of Counties
National Association of Social Workers
National Coalition on Health Care
National League of Cities
New Profit
New Teacher Center
Nonprofit Finance Fund
Nurse-Family Partnership
Pacific Business Group on Health
Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease
Primary Care Collaborative
Project Evident
Quantified Ventures
REDF
Results for America
Roca
Share Our Strength
Single Stop
SNP Alliance
Social Finance
Springboard Collaborative
StriveTogether
Third Sector
Trust for America’s Health
URAC
Wyman Center
YMCA of the USA