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Greater Washington Partnership Blueprint Report

PILLAR 06
Health Equity Accessible and Effective Health Care Ecosystems

Black and Hispanic communities are disproportionately affected by systemic
healthcare inequities
and experience poorer health outcomes than white populations as a result
291

Underrepresented communities across the Capital Region experience systemic barriers to living healthy lives, including racism and discrimination in care delivery and deep inequities in social determinants of health.DD Structural flaws in the healthcare system limit access to sufficient health coverage, affordable and equitable healthcare, quality food and nutrition education, and community resources.

As a result, our region faces enormous and longstanding disparities in health-related outcomes between underserved populations and white populations, including variations in life expectancy, birth rates, morbidity, and more. There are substantial societal costs of these disparities: in 2021, a Kaiser Family Foundation report calculated that health disparities cost the US $93B in excess medical costs and $42B in lost productivity per year.3

What
is Health Equity?
The Partnership defines health equity as the fair and just opportunity for everyone in our region to fulfill their human potential in all aspects of health and well-being. Health equity means that every community member can achieve an overall state of well-being encompassing clinical, mental, social, emotional, physical, and spiritual health
271

Health equity has become a central focus across the U.S. due to COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on Black and Hispanic communities, coupled with a national social justice reckoning that highlighted institutional racism, among other challenges. Health equity impacts business outcomes including workforce participation and productivity, consumer expectations, healthcare costs, and more.

Health equity cannot be addressed without an integrated focus on the economic, social, and environmental conditions beyond healthcare—the social determinants of health—as well as the structures, cultures, and technologies that influence care and well-being. Advancing health equity and reducing racial disparities in health-related outcomes requires coordinated action across all priority pillars, which reflect social determinants of health. The following section details how employers can support inclusive growth within health equity and the potential impact of making such investments.

Hispanic residents are 14-43%
more likely
to not have health insurance coverage than white residentsDD

Life expectancy for Black newborns is more than a
decade lower
than white newborns in the regionDD

Black infant mortality rates are 85-200%
higher
than those of white residents; D.C. has the highest rate with
13.9
deaths per 1,000
live births among black residentsDD

Food insecurity is a significantly
larger challenge for communities of color – Black residents are
93-187%

more
likely
to be receiving SNAP
assistance than white residents
DD

Solutions
Health Equity
Accessible and Effective Health Care Ecosystems

Case Study:CityBlock

CityBlock is a community-based health program that leverages technology to deliver personalized, high-touch care to low-income residents with multiple health concerns. The organization offers physical, mental, and social services and provides integrated care benefits in the following ways:

  • Flexible Care Options
  • CityBlock members can access care virtually, via home visits, or at community care sites
  • Mental Healthcare
  • Psychiatrists and therapists work with members to help manage common mental health issues, as well as the stress associated with chronic medical conditions
  • Community Support

Recognizing that health extends beyond the clinic, CityBlock pairs members with Community Health Partners that help them navigate the care ecosystem from food and transportation to stable housing and reliable means of income

CityBlock works closely with insurers to provide care to targeted populations. Employers should consider working with their insurers to include CityBlock-like services within their plan offerings as they strive for integrated health benefits

Case Study:Unite Us

Unite Us is an outcome-focused technology company that builds coordinated care networks connecting health and social service providers with national operations. Unite Us’ software improves coordination, tracks outcomes, and helps standardize data sharing between payers, providers, government services and social services.

Unite Us’ infrastructure provides both a person-centered care coordination platform and a hands-on community engagement process, working hand-in-hand with communities to ensure services are delivered to the people who need them most.

Partners in the network are connected through Unite Us’ shared technology platform, which enables them to access a variety of functionality in a centralized ecosystem, including:

  • Sending and receive electronic referrals
  • Addressing people’s social needs
  • Tracking every patient’s total health journey
  • Reporting on all tangible outcomes across a full range of services

The platform has a coordinated care network across the Capital Region, built in partnership with Kaiser Permanente and EveryMind, and just received $10M in CARES Act funding in Virginia to become the preferred coordinated care referral system in the state. Through Unite Us DMV, which includes the Mid-Atlantic Community Network funded by Kaiser Permanente, partners are able to send and receive secure, electronic referrals across the Capital Region and surrounding states, ensuring communities and individuals can seamlessly access much-needed resources and services across state lines.

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