Mandates and incentives to support social needs screening—challenges and opportunities

Health-related social needs (HRSNs) are associated with poor and disparate child health outcomes, decreased access to preventive care, and increased acute care utilization. There is, therefore, growing momentum around addressing HRSNs through social care integration in pediatric health care settings.This enthusiasm is driven in part by mandates and incentives supporting HRSN screening, including Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) quality measures, Joint Commission requirements, and modifications to the US News and World Report hospital rankings. Payers have also recently entered the social care landscape, with some state Medicaid agencies mandating that Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) screen for HRSNs and several Medicaid MCOs reimbursing health care practitioners for HRSN screening.