The fact that unaddressed health-related social needs (HRSNs) drive up total cost of care for payers and health plans is not “new news.” But a new study—Cross-Sectional Analysis Of Insurance Claims Shows Health Care Utilization And Costs Associated With Health-Related Social Needs (HRSNs) In An Urban Population—added to the evidence base, finding that consumers who screened positive for unmet HRSNs incurred nearly twice the care costs. Those consumers had more outpatient visits, emergency department visits, and medical inpatient hospitalization days compared to those who screened negative.

The analysis was focused on adult consumers (ages 21 to 65) enrolled in a Medicaid managed care plan in the greater New York City metropolitan are. The HRSNs of consumers were assessed using the Health Leads Social…