A coalition of more than 100 organizations have expressed their support for the reintroduction of the bipartisan bill.
In a July 6 letter written by Aligning for Health, organizations, including the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Humana, Centene, and other payers and health care providers, endorsed the reintroduction of the Social Determinants of Health Accelerator Act of 2021.
The program, which was reintroduced by bipartisan members of Congress on April 14, aims to provide grants and support to states and communities to develop innovative and evidence-based approaches to coordinate health and social services, improve health outcomes and cost-effectiveness, and advance the exchange of cross-sector information.
“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 of 2021 is a critical step to overcome these challenges and move the ball forward,” the letter read.
Key provisions from the 2019 Social Determinants Accelerator Act were included in Congress’ COVID-19 omnibus bill approved in December 2020, which provided the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) $3 million in funding to establish an SDoH pilot program to award competitive grants to state, local, territorial, or Tribal governments in support of SDoH Accelerator Plans.
The Social Determinants of Health Accelerator Act of 2021 would provide $25 million in funding to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to provide grants to state, local, and Tribal governments. The council created under the reintroduced act would provide support to entities receiving funds from the CDC and through the new program, according to Aligning for Health.