Accountable Communities for Health: Moving From Providing Accountable Care to Creating Health

Renuka Tipirneni; Katherine Diaz Vickery; Edward P. Ehlinger

doi:10.1370/afm.1813

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Accountable Communities Health: A Promising Health Care Delivery Model
Karen M. Murphy

Published on: 22 September 2015

Published on: (22 September 2015)
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Accountable Communities Health: A Promising Health Care Delivery Model
Karen M. Murphy, Secretary of Health
Other Contributors:
Dr. Tipirneni and her colleagues describe an important model of health care delivery that has emerged in the recent era of health care reform: the accountable community for health (ACH). ACHs are able to - in ways accountable care organizations are not - effectively address upstream social determinants of health that impact health outcomes much more significantly than provision of health care services. Partnering with co...
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Dr. Tipirneni and her colleagues describe an important model of health care delivery that has emerged in the recent era of health care reform: the accountable community for health (ACH). ACHs are able to - in ways accountable care organizations are not - effectively address upstream social determinants of health that impact health outcomes much more significantly than provision of health care services. Partnering with community agencies and public health, ACHs truly address the root causes of poor health, including unstable housing, unemployment, and poor access to nutritious food. We appreciate that Dr. Tipirneni advances the idea of embracing a total health approach in how we design health and health care delivery in our communities. In order to be successful, we must partner with our colleagues in education, business, social service agencies, and public health in order to improve health. Furthermore, as we move toward reimbursement tied to value, rather than volume, it is critically important that we design and test innovative payment methodologies that redistribute reimbursement to address social determinants of health.
Across the country, providers, insurers, health systems, and state governments are recognizing the value of this new approach. Many states, through the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) State Innovation Model Initiative (SIM) awards are actively engaging multiple stakeholders spanning the health care, public health, and social service sectors to improve the underlying social determinants of health that impact health outcomes. Through a SIM Design Award and in partnership with a wide variety of stakeholders, Pennsylvania is exploring opportunities to strategically deploy resources to improve the health of all populations - rather than a one-size-fits-all approach - that will yield greater impact upon the underlying causes of the commonwealth's most pressing population health challenges.
We thank Dr. Tipirneni for calling attention to this promising model for health care delivery.
Karen M. Murphy, PhD, RN, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Health
Lauren S. Hughes, MD, MPH, MSc, FAAFP, Deputy Secretary for Health Innovation, Pennsylvania Department of Health
Competing interests: None declared
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Competing Interests: None declared.