Health Reform Impacts on Multi-Sector Networks that Support Population Health

A substantial body of research has investigated the impact of ACA on coverage, access to care, utilization, affordability, health outcomes, and various economic measures. However, no study has examined the impact of health reform on multi-sector networks that support population health. Despite the numerous gains and positive impacts from ACA, fragmentation and lack of coordination between health care delivery, public health and community service systems remain significant barriers to improving health, well-being and equity in the United States. Moreover, as federal funding streams and state and local governmental budgets for public health and prevention become increasingly constrained, improving multi-sector collaborations to efficiently and effectively implement community health improvement strategies could yield important health reform policy solutions. By examining the impact of health reform on multi-sector population health networks, the results from this study can lend evidence to inform ongoing upstream efforts such as those being incorporated into new models like the Accountable Health Communities Demonstration Project that offers providers and health plans greater latitude to incorporate communitywide population health programs and sustainable financing options into their Medicare and Medicaid strategies.