By NextBestFitHousing, food, and transportation drive health, but health care isn't designed for them
Social conditions shape outcomes more than medical care, yet health systems have few tools or funding streams to address them.
Who's affected
Who is hurt
- Low- and middle-income households: Health systems lack tools and funding to address social conditions shaping their health.
- People experiencing homelessness: Health systems lack tools and funding to address social conditions shaping their health.
Who gains while it lasts
None identified.
Under your mix of paths
Paths that fix or soften it
Using your saved plan. 0 paths picked.Edit all picks
Root causes
- Separate silos for health and social services
Related costs
Open questions
- Should the health system pay for non-medical needs (housing, food) when they improve health?
Solution paths (2)
Open a path for what it fixes, what it creates or worsens, who gains and who loses, precedents, and how it connects to other paths. See all paths as a decision tree.
Allow the health system to pay for housing support, medically tailored meals, and rides.
- +Housing, food, and transportation drive health, but health care isn't designed for them
- −Leaves funding vulnerable or inflexible
- −Requires workers to change roles or skills
Keep social programs separateRejected
Fund housing and food programs directly, not through health care.
- +Housing, food, and transportation drive health, but health care isn't designed for them
- −Solves only part of the problem
- −Adds paperwork, coordination, or complexity
Also addressed by paths for other problems
Invest outside health careWorse outcomes than peer countries despite the highest spendingChosen
Spending on housing and nutrition addresses social conditions contributing to the outcome gap.