Build Healthy Places Network, March 6, 2020: Hospitals Take Note—An important source of funding to address the social determinants of health may be disappearing
An obscure banking rule has quietly funneled millions of dollars into low-income communities, helping to reduce the deep health inequities between low-income and wealthier families in America. But that rule—the Community Reinvestment Act—is now under threat. In December, the three regulatory agencies overseeing the CRA proposed significant changes.
For health systems seeking to address the upstream impacts on health, these proposed changes will be a significant setback and threaten an important source of funding—and a steady ally—for health systems investing in the social determinants of health.
Ultimately, the proposed rule changes are a double threat to health systems. They undermine health systems’ ability to accelerate their investments—including with their community benefit grants and loans— and they cut off resources flowing into these neighborhoods to tackle social determinants of health.
The health sector and others have made significant progress in addressing upstream impacts on health like neighborhood vitality, good jobs, good schools, healthy food options and more. It would be tragic to lose that momentum.
