NAMD Highlights Opportunities to Address Social Determinants of Health in Response to Congressional Social Determinants of Health Caucus Request

The Congressional Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Caucus recently released a Request for Information on federal policy approaches to address health-related social needs. NAMD gathered input from State Medicaid Directors on barriers and opportunities to address social determinants of health for Medicaid members. Our final letter includes key principles for navigating Medicaid’s role in addressing social determinants of health, along with policy recommendations including allowing states to adopt express lane eligibility options, removing barriers to inter-agency data sharing, modifying budget neutrality requirements for section 1115 demonstration projects, and lifting the prohibition on Medicaid paying for room and board. These actions would give Medicaid programs additional tools for addressing the health-related social needs of their members.