Sustainable Funding and Business Case for GHHI Home Interventions for Asthma Patients

The Green & Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI) is pleased to release Sustainable Funding and Business Case for GHHI Home Interventions for Asthma Patients — a publication assessing ways in which effective, comprehensive home interventions can be integrated with the healthcare system payment structure. This represents the first in a series of GHHI papers that will address new pathways for sustainable funding in alignment with the healthcare system.

With generous support from the Osprey Foundation and the JPB Foundation, GHHI commissioned and partnered with Health Management Associates (HMA) in the preparation of this paper. GHHI asked HMA to explore medical payment models and other funding streams related to health based housing. HMA consultants are foremost experts in the fields of health and human services policy, healthy economics and finance, program evaluation, data analysis and health system restructuring.

Our goal in producing this work is to advance the dialog around housing as a platform for health, and to begin suggesting viable action steps for policy makers and healthcare industry leaders. GHHI delivers evidenced-based interventions to families and has achieved significant results. A peer-reviewed study published in the Environmental Justice journal of the GHHI program in Maryland showed a 66% reduction in hospitalizations and a 28% reduction in emergency room visits for asthmatics. With health care reform and innovation efforts currently taking place—aimed at delivering better care, producing a healthier population, and reducing healthcare costs—there is a unique window now to bring more health care investment to the activities of GHHI and similar healthy homes programs. This report identifies sustainable health-related funding streams for asthma-related home interventions, looks at payment structures and examines the business case for healthcare payers to fund these services.