Patient Care Access News

SDOH Interventions Cost Average $60 Per Patient, Federal Aid Falls Short

SDOH interventions average a monthly cost of $60 per member, with only $27 covered by existing federal funding. High-poverty, non-FQHC practice areas had greater funding gaps.

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By Sarai Rodriguez

- While more primary care practices are screening patients for social risk, the cost of social determinants of health (SDOH) interventions targeting housing security, non-emergency medical transportation, and community-based care coordination surpasses available federal funding by over half.

According to researchers from the study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, the lack of federal support leaves the majority of these SDOH interventions as unfunded needs, with uncertain sources for the remaining funding.

"Deploying SDOH interventions, such as arranging rideshares to medical appointments and connecting individuals to food pantries or affordable housing complexes, holds the potential to reduce hospital inpatient admission rates and emergency department visits,” the researchers wrote.