Policy: Improve Health for Specific At-Risk Populations
Specific populations that are at risk for poor health outcomes for manageable conditions present unique opportunities for care improvement. Toward this end, the Task Force recommends that the targeted interventions detailed below be implemented to address the special health care needs of specific sub-populations. Strategy Element #15: Expand the existing evidence-based family home visiting program for high-risk mothers and evaluate the impact of home visiting on health disparities. Minnesota children who experience economic hardships, maltreatment, and other trauma face distinct risks to their overall health and development. In Minnesota, 13.7% of pregnant women received inadequate or late (2nd or 3rd trimester) prenatal care, 15.2% of pregnant women smoked during their pregnancy, and 4.3 per 1,000 children 12 years and younger are abused or neglected.
Evidence-based family home visiting has been shown to be an effective service strategy for very young children and their families, improving outcomes in lifelong health and well-being, school readiness, and economic self-sufficiency.
Research-based family home visiting models have proven that for every public health dollar invested, a return of up to $5.70 can be expected in savings to programs including Medicaid and food support. Therefore, the Task Force recommends expanding the family home visiting program to include voluntarily-enrolled first-time mothers on Medicaid and pregnant and parenting teenagers in the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP).
After reading the Road Map to a Healthier Minnesota, pick a policy you want to discuss further in this discussion board.
What did you find most surprising in the plan and the policy?
Discuss the implications the healthcare policy you chose impacts the healthcare crisis happending today.
Perhaps the policy suggestions in the report are not something you encounter in your work or profession. If not professionally, which policy change recommendations resonate with you as a citizen? Support your ideas with examples you have experienced and information you have read which bring you to a place of passion (or compassion!) for one or more of the recommendations.