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CVS Ramps Up Housing Investments To Address Social Determinants

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CVS Health will increase investments in affordable housing to address social determinants of health as insurers intensify strategies to reduce costs and improve outcomes beyond covering traditional medical treatments.

This year, CVS Health and its Aetna health insurance unit will invest $75 million in affordable housing in several communities on top of $67 million invested in 2019 in affordable housing that was used to “create more than 2,200 affordable homes with supportive services for individuals and families across 24 cities in six states,” the company said Tuesday.

CVS Health and rival health insurers that include UnitedHealth Group and Anthem are increasingly investing in an array of services and capital projects to address social determinants from food insecurity and loneliness to homelessness. Many of these health plans are also paying for an array of services from food and nutrition to housing to make sure patients are getting the right care in the right place and at the right time. And by paying for these new benefits, insurers see cost savings if more expensive hospital care or other adverse health outcomes are avoided down the road.

“Providing affordable housing options to people who are facing significant challenges can be their first step on a path to better health,” Karen Lynch, CVS Health’s executive vice president and president of Aetna said. “However, we understand that more support is often needed. That is why we work with community organizations to provide access to services such as independent living skills, cooking and nutrition, financial literacy, health information classes, resident outreach and engagement, client centered treatment plans and social support.”

CVS, which bought Aetna in 2018, said the two companies have invested more than $1 billion in affordable housing and related investments since 1997 that have resulted in “the building and renovation of over 93,000 affordable rental units.”

CVS said it has invested more than $16o million in California over the last two decades and “nearly $50 million in the past two years alone,” said Kristen Miranda, president of CVS’ Aetna unit’s California market.

As one example, CVS cited a partnership with CREA that will close this month that will involve an $8.1 million “commitment to finance the development of 85 affordable housing units in collaboration with the East LA Proprietary Community Corporation and New Directions for Veterans. There will be 63 units for those who are homeless that include 44 specifically for veterans.

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