Aligning for Health is proud to support the Social Determinants Accelerator Act of 2021 (H.R. 2503/S. 3039), a bipartisan bill introduced in the House by Reps. Bustos (D-IL), Cole (R-OK), McGovern (D-MA), and Mullin (R-OK) and in the Senate by Senators Young (R-IN) and Stabenow (D-MI).

Endorse SDAA Here

The Social Determinants Accelerator Program

The Social Determinants Accelerator Act (H.R. 2503/S. 3039) will help states and communities devise strategies to better leverage existing programs and authorities to improve the health and well-being of those participating in Medicaid.

The legislation will provide planning grants and technical assistance to state, local and Tribal governments to help them devise innovative, evidence-based approaches to coordinate services and improve outcomes and cost-effectiveness.

Specifically, under the Social Determinants Accelerator Act of 2021:

  • The Secretary of Health and Human Services would convene the Social Determinants Accelerator Interagency Council. The Council would include program experts from HHS, including CMS, HRSA, CDC, AHRQ, and IHS; from across the federal government, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Labor and the United States Department of Agriculture; as well as state and local government officials, the private sector and community-based organizations.
  • Grant funding would be made available to state, local and Tribal governments, qualified nongovernmental entities as defined by HHS, or a consortium of entities that includes state, local or Tribal governments to conduct research and develop Social Determinants Accelerator Plans, and for implementation of the Accelerator Plans.
  • Social Determinants Accelerator Plans would:
    • Target communities with significant unmet health and social needs, like homeless individuals, older workers with arthritis, nursing home patients, or mothers diagnosed with post-partum depression;
    • Identify the key outcomes to be achieved through improved coordination of health and non-health services and use of evidence-based interventions; and
    • Include a plan for linking data across programs measuring the impact of the new approach on the health of participants and the return-on-investment for taxpayers.
  • The Council would provide technical assistance to grantees to help them implement their plans by identifying federal authorities, opportunities and strategies for braiding and blending funds and designing rigorous evaluations. To ensure all jurisdictions can benefit, the Council will broadly disseminate best practices and opportunities for cross-program coordination.

Additional Information:

Supporting Organizations

  • Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors
  • Acelero Learning
  • achi
  • Activate Care
  • Adagio Health 
  • Alameda County Public Health Department
  • Aligning for Health
  • America Forward
  • American Association of Service Coordinators
  • American Association on Health and Disability
  • American Hospital Association
  • American Medical Association
  • American Society of Addiction Medicine 
  • America’s Essential Hospitals
  • America’s Health Insurance Plans
  • America’s Promise Alliance
  • AMGA
  • Amida Care
  • Anthem
  • Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness
  • Association for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 
  • Association of American Medical Colleges
  • Aurora Institute
  • Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
  • Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina
  • Bree Collaborative
  • CareSource
  • Centene
  • Change Healthcare
  • Children’s Hospital Association
  • Citizen Schools
  • City Year Inc.
  • College of American Pathologists
  • Community ConneXor
  • Corporation for Supportive Housing
  • Council on Social Work Education
  • CyncHealth
  • Early Learning Alliance
  • eHealth Initiative
  • Enterprise Community Partners
  • Families USA
  • findhelp
  • Forum for Youth Investment
  • Green & Healthy Homes Initiative
  • GreenLight Fund
  • Hawaii Health & Harm Reduction Center
  • Healthcare Leadership Council
  • Healthy Alliance
  • Hep Free Hawaii
  • Humana
  • iMentor
  • Indiana Health Information Exchange (IHIE) 
  • Institute for Child Success
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • Johnson & Johnson
  • KidSucceed LLC
  • Lakeshore Foundation 
  • Let’s Grow Kids
  • LexisNexis Risk Solutions
  • Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)
  • Lutheran Services in America
  • Macoupin County Public Health Department
  • Maxim Healthcare Services, Inc. 
  • Maycomb Capital Community Outcomes Fund
  • Meals on Wheels America
  • Medical Group Management Association
  • Molina
  • Nashville Health Disparities Coalition
  • National Alliance to impact the Social Determinants of Health (NASDOH)
  • National Association of ACOs (NAACOS)
  • National Association of Area Agencies on Aging
  • National Association of Counties
  • National Association of Social Workers
  • National Coalition on Health Care
  • National League of Cities
  • Nemours Children’s Health System
  • New Profit
  • New Teacher Center
  • Nonprofit Finance Fund
  • Nurse-Family Partnership
  • Orange County Board of Supervisors
  • Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center
  • Patient Access Network (PAN) Foundation 
  • Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease
  • Penn Center for Community Health Workers
  • Population Health Alliance
  • Primary Care Collaborative
  • Project Evident
  • Purchaser Business Group on Health
  • Quantified Ventures
  • REDF
  • Results for America
  • Roca
  • Share Our Strength
  • Signify Health
  • Single Stop
  • SNP Alliance
  • Social Finance
  • Socially Determined
  • Solera
  • Springboard Collaborative
  • SSM Health
  • StriveTogether
  • The Community Transportation Association of America
  • The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research
  • The Root Cause Coalition
  • Tivity Health
  • TransUnion Healthcare
  • Trinity Alliance of the Capital Region, Inc.
  • Uber Health
  • UPMC Health Plan
  • URAC
  • Valley AIDS Council
  • Visible Network Labs
  • Vizient, Inc. 
  • WelCore Health LLC
  • Western Governors Association
  • Wholesome Wave
  • Wyman Center
  • YMCA of the USA

Social Determinants Accelerator Act of 2019 (H.R. 4004/S. 2986)

Previously, Congress introduced the Social Determinants Accelerator Act (SDAA) in 2019. In December 2020, Congress incorporated provisions of SDAA into its Fiscal Year 2021 Appropriations package. The accompanying Joint Explanatory Statement for the Departments of Labor-HHS-Education included $3M in funding to establish a Social Determinants of Health Pilot Program to create Social Determinants of Health Accelerator Plans, as described in the House-passed Report Language. More information can be found in our press release following the announcement.

The CDC is in the process of issuing grants to State, local, territorial, and Tribal jurisdictions to support the development of the Social Determinants of Health Accelerator Plans to fulfill this provision of the end of year appropriations package. The notice of funding opportunity for these grants can be found here.

More information on the Social Determinants Accelerator Act of 2019 can be found below:

  • Bill Text: H.R. 4004, S. 2986
  • Supporters and Endorsement Letters
    • List of all supporters for H.R. 4004/S. 2986
    • Letter to House Energy & Commerce Committee, January 2020
    • Aligning for Health Coalition Letter, July 2019
    • America Forward Coalition Letter, July 2019