Improving Outcomes for Specific Patient Populations and Conditions
Population health management involves targeting specific patient populations––such as people with diabetes, maternal health issues, or cancer. Providers collaborate to create specific standardized treatment goals and interventions. Hospitals track specific populations through:
- Detailed reports from health insurers
- Patient medical records
- Nurse care managers
- Community health workers
- Social workers
Food Insecurity
The direct connection between food security and proper nutrition, and better health is well-documented. Yet, in Pennsylvania, more than one in ten Pennsylvanians are food insecure.
HAP opposes a proposed federal rule that would drastically reduce Broad-based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE) for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The changes would jeopardize food access and adversely affect children, seniors, and people with disabilities. BBCE gives states the flexibility to determine appropriate income thresholds and extend SNAP benefits to low-income families and individuals who would otherwise struggle to afford food. If approved, the change would:
- Destabilize families by forcing them to choose between putting food on their table or covering child care, rent, or other basic needs
- Jeopardize free lunches for children who qualify, and programs that provide nutritious meals for children after school and during the summer
In Pennsylvania,
- Food insecurity is reduced (by one-fifth overall, and one-third for children) when families get SNAP
- Compared to low-income adults without SNAP, those who participate in SNAP have 25 percent less in health care expenditures
- Low-income adults who struggle with chronic disease and participate in SNAP have even greater reductions in health care expenditures