The subject of this article really caught my eye although I must admit I haven’t read the article yet Frown. What are your thoughts about the importance of the food industry in our overall population health?
Connecting patients nutrition exercise and other lifestyle-related characteristics to health risk assessment and then to care management could be next in efforts among population health pioneers
Is now the time for the leaders of patient care organizations who are leading population health management initiatives to think broadly about some of the non-clinical aspects of health status including food and nutrition exercise and other so-called lifestyle choice elements of health in the context of care management efforts? Recent articles inThe New England Journal of MedicineandHealth Affairscertainly seem to point to that possibility. Whats more a small number of patient care organizations are beginning to look at the sociodemographic and socioeconomic aspects of health status among their covered populations. Lets look at whats going on.
To begin with I was fascinated to read a Perspective article that appeared online inThe New England Journal of MedicineentitledU.S. Nutrition Assistance 2018Modifying SNAP to Promote Population Health.The thought-piece written by Sara N. Bleich Ph.D. Eric B. Rimm Sc.D. and Kelly D. Brownell Ph.D. examines some of the policy foundations of one of the key federal anti-hunger programs in the United States in the context of current population health management initiatives among U.S. healthcare providers and plans.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) the authors write is the cornerstone of the nutrition safety net in the United States helping 45 million low-income Americans nearly half of them children pay for food each month. SNAP is authorized by Congress through the Farm Bill which also covers agricultural programs such as crop insurance and land-conservation measures. With an annual cost of $74 billion the program accounts for roughly 80 percent of the spending authorized by the bill. As an entitlement program SNAP is responsive to economic fluctuations enrollment can expand rapidly when the economy weakens and shrink when it improves. SNAP is scheduled to be reauthorized in the 2018 Farm Bill which will set U.S. food policy for the next 5 years and beyond. As Congress deliberates its important to consider what changes to the program are feasible and also have the potential to improve population health. Above all they state we believe SNAP should be protected and ideally expanded since its current benefits dont allow most families to purchase adequate food to maintain a healthy diet.
The researchers note that while SNAP was never initially designed to focus on nutrition but rather was intended primarily to reduce hunger. Originally known as the Food Stamp Program it was initiated in 1961 but didnt become a permanent nationwide program until 1974. SNAP has improved food security for millions of Americans. In 2014 SNAP lifted 4.7 million people including 2.1 million children out of poverty. As the authors note the challenge for many low-income families today is less about obtaining enough food and more about finding dependable access to affordable healthy food. Currently SNAP benefits can be used to purchase virtually any type of food or nonalcoholic beverage from eligible retailers.
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