Page 6 - SF HOSPITAL NEWS NOVEMBER 2020

Healthy People 2030 vs. The State of Florida:

How to Get There from Here

Just last month, the federal Department of Health and Each study is slightly different in its approach, methodology, and outcome.
Human Services came out with its blueprint for public health Unfortunately, though, the results in aggregate tend to show a dismal picture for the state
action: Healthy People 2030. Healthy People 2030 contains of Florida—always in the lower half and usually in the lower quartile of comparative state
355 science-based health status objectives which have been performance with regard to health status. A closer analysis of the disparate factors affect-
categorized under five classifications: health conditions, ing health status performance leads to a few inescapable conclusions and recommenda-
health behaviors, populations, settings and systems, and tions for policy-makers, public health officials, healthcare administrators, businesses, and
social determinants of health. The objectives include health individuals.
status targets and tools for actions that should be adopted by • Improve access to care. In particular, the policy decision not to expand Medicaid to
individuals, by providers and health systems, by businesses, low-income adults authorized by the Affordable Care Act consistently lands Florida
and by public-private partnership initiatives to achieve opti- among the worst-performing states in the nation for access to care.
mal health. • Eliminate disparities in care. Florida still has a significant difference in healthcare
Eventually, the Healthy People 2030 plan will identify utilization rates and clinical outcomes between white Floridians and Black or Hispanic
BY CALVIN state-specific data points that will show baseline perform- Floridians and between rural and urban communities.
GLIDEWELL ance as well as targeted improvements for each state within • Address avoidable use of healthcare facilities and resultant cost of care. Florida
each indicator. At the present time, however, the state-specif- health systems need to do a better job of population health management and eliminating
ic data is still being formulated and tabulated by the National Center for Health Statistics. duplicative and unnecessary care.
For now, we’ll have to rely on other commercially-available published studies showing the • Improve funding for public health. Florida consistently ranks among the lowest
relative performance of each state in achieving optimal health. (Spoiler Alert: states for public health expenditures per 100,000 people. Florida policymakers should
Unfortunately, the data we do have doesn’t show a very rosy picture for Florida.) ensure that there are adequate resources for health equity initiatives, disaster response
There are four organizations which have recently rated Florida’s health status perform- efforts, chronic disease management, and emerging public health threats.
ance as compared to all other states: (1) The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation • Address the growing scarcity of adequate providers. As Florida’s population swells
whose mission is to promote a high-performing health care system that achieves better and ages, the provider-to-population ratios continue to deteriorate. Health systems
access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society’s most vulnerable should periodically evaluate their recruitment and retention efforts to continually be able
including low-income people, the uninsured, and people of color; (2) The United Health to attract and maintain a dedicated and high-quality workforce.
Foundation, a not-for profit, private foundation established by the UnitedHealth Group • Create broad-based nutritional and exercise programs to minimize inactivity, obesity,
and dedicated to improving health and health care; (3) U.S. News & World Report, a and diabetes. Individual behavior is often the most difficult domain to legislate, monitor,
multi-platform publisher of news and information, which includes authoritative rankings and manage. But we need policies which support healthy behaviors: elimination of food
in a variety of categories, including a ranking of the Best States for Health Care; and (4) deserts, early nutritional and physical education in public schools, adequate emotional and
WalletHub, a private company owned by Evolution Finance which conducted a review of mental health support, and social support structures to benefit the entire community.
the best and worst states for health care. Thanks to the framework and recommendations provided by the Healthy People 2030
Here is Florida’s health status ranking as reported by these four different agencies: initiative, there is a clear pathway to improving the health status of Floridians. Not easy,
Reporting Organization Date of Publication Florida Ranking but clear. We need political will, leadership commitment, allocation of sufficient
(out of 50 states) resources, development of fresh collaborations with private and nonprofit business part-
1. Commonwealth Fund August 2020 41 ners, and an unwavering resolve to lead the way in America to becoming the healthiest
2. United Health Foundation December 2019 33 state in the nation.
3. U.S. News & World Report 2019 29
4. WalletHub August 2020 37 Calvin Glidewell is President and CEO of inspirEx Healthcare Strategies.

Industry Veteran Launches

a Direct-To-Consumer

Life Insurance Quote Engine

Howard Wolkowitz, a financial author, educa-
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6 November 2020 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News