Support health plan investments to improve social factors of health

As organizations in healthcare and various social sectors consider more comprehensive, upstream approaches, they encounter various challenges. The financing and business models of most health systems, for example, do not easily adapt to a partnership role with other sectors. Public and private payment systems do not help. Even within the federal and state governments, close collaboration proves difficult for health departments and other departments, as does coordinating their budgets and programs. Thus, despite the desire to do so, it remains difficult to deploy public and private resources strategically across sectors to achieve health and other social goals, such as health equity. If this frustrating policy environment is to change, reforms affecting multiple sectors will be required. To identify the needed reforms, Convergence brought together nearly 40 organizations and experts from multiple sectors to find consensus on a Blueprint for Action.