A new National Academy of Medicine (NAM) report provides guidance on collecting data on indicators of social risk factors.
Accounting for Social Risk Factors in Medicare Payment: Data is the fourth of five reports from a NAM ad hoc committee working to identify social risk factors that affect the health outcomes of Medicare beneficiaries, and methods to account for these factors in Medicare value-based payment programs.
This report identifies four measurable social risk factors for inclusion in the short-term:
- income, education, and dual Medicare and Medicaid eligibility;
- race, ethnicity, language, and nativity;
- marital/partnership status and living alone; and
- neighborhood deprivation, urbanicity, and housing.
America’s Essential Hospitals has been a leading advocate for risk-adjustment based on socioeconomic status for measures in Medicare quality programs to ensure that hospitals caring for vulnerable patients are not disproportionately and unfairly penalized for the challenges their patients face.
Contact Director of Policy Erin O’Malley at eomalley@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0127 with questions.