The pandemic has put social determinants of health and inequities into the spotlight. But a new study from Humana aims to highlight how common these challenges were among seniors before COVID-19 hit.
The study, published this week in Health Affairs and conducted between October 2019 and February 2020, screened more than 100,000 Medicare Advantage members and found that just under half (49.3%) were positive for at least one social health challenges. Of those, the most common was financial strain, reported by 33.1% of members.
Other social needs identified include food insecurity (18.5%) and poor housing quality (17.7%).
"It wasn't that the pandemic created these social needs," Stephanie Franklin, associate director of population health and Bold Goal at Humana and one of the study's authors, told Fierce Healthcare. "The social needs existed, and very much impacted how seniors were able to maintain their health and quality of life during the pandemic."
The study also found significant disparities in social need burdens between different populations. Younger and male members were less likely to carry a high social need burden, while Black members had an elevated risk for a substantial burden.
For example, the study found a 16.7% disparity between Black and white members in food insecurity.
The goal in conducting studies like this, Franklin said, is to more effectively enable insurers like Humana as well as other healthcare companies position themselves to proactively address these challenges. Humana, for instance, has its Bold Goal initiative, which aims to reduce member's unhealthy days through a slew of population health initiatives.
The insurer has designated multiple Bold Goal markets as focus points for this effort.
The researchers said the findings highlight the need for further investment in programs like Bold Goal. COVID's impacts have made the need even more stark, Franklin said.
"We're really trying to work across the continuum of care … to offer this whole-person health," she said.