Investing in Affordable Housing to Promote Community Health

Housing is one of several important social determinants (social and economic factors) that have a significant impact on a person’s health. Health care reform has shifted the health care landscape from focusing only on treating illness and injury to also promoting health and wellness, as well as looking at the larger environment that impacts health through such factors as housing. This is leading health care providers and payers (e.g., insurance companies) to consider how to broaden their approach to providing and paying for interventions that address social determinants of health. This profile assesses a Medicaid managed care organization’s $20 million investment in an affordable housing development in Phoenix, Arizona to tackle the severe affordable housing needs of their low-income members and the community.