Negative social determinants of health (SDOH) — poverty, lack of close social support, lack of transportation and so on — have long been recognized as significant barriers to care, but were typically left for public sector safety net programs to address. Now, the private sector is becoming increasingly involved.

As part of the industry’s shift toward value-based care (VBC), health insurers are increasingly willing to explore (and, in some cases, launching) population health initiatives designed to blunt SDOH impact and improve patient outcomes.

“The health care system is becoming more focused on keeping patients healthy instead of waiting to treat them once they become sick or wind up in the hospital,” reported the Associated Press’s Tom Murphy. “This isn’t a new concept, but it’s growing.”

“Insurers are expanding what they pay for to confront rising costs, realizing that a person’s health depends mostly on what happens outside a doctor’s visit,” he noted. “Near-term expenses from primary care visits or food services may rise, but the payoff — preventing a heart attack because of improved health — might be down the road.”

Learn more here, in Washington’s Everett Herald.