Timothy Kelley

Laws since 1996 have sought to assure that coverage of behavioral health treatments does not take a back seat to physical medicine. Amid a national crisis in mental illness and addiction, that new world of equality has not arrived. But is it on the way?

Charging more than $2 million for a single treatment was once unthinkable, but no more.

Recent years have brought a host of new orphan medications for rare disorders, and more are coming. But the U.S. hasn’t yet settled on a way to handle their often astronomical prices — and neither has any other country.

Its physicians are overworked, and patients are going elsewhere for care. Experts say help is on its way for primary care in the United States — but so is an onslaught of new demands.

Social determinants of health (SDOH) have been on the minds of local, county and state governments for years. These two jurisdictions have been conspicuously active in pioneering innovative programs addressing SDOH.

Kate Sommerfeld, president of the Social Determinants of Health Institute, spoke about efforts to address social determinants of health (SDOH) gaining traction, taking an interconnected approach and using data analytics to understand the value of the efforts to address SDOH.

There’s a long history to recognizing that social factors shape people’s health. But the social determinants of health are getting more attention than ever. Will that attention turn into action and lasting change?