At Social Finance, we know that a lot of what keeps people healthy happens outside of hospitals or doctor’s offices. We focus on driving resources toward interventions and programs that address social determinants of health, focus on prevention, and create promising evidence for moving the needle on community health goals. The uptake of these models into the standard of care has been slow; we need to create breakthrough partnerships that cut across sectors and work together where health starts—in homes, schools, and jobs.
How We Help
- Partner with health funders such as public health agencies, Medicaid offices, and managed care organizations to rigorously analyze the case for investment in community prevention.
- Develop outcomes-based funding mechanisms focused on the social determinants of health, allowing health funders to test new approaches without taking on the financial risk that they might not pay off.
- Facilitate cross-sectoral financial partnerships around health outcomes, building connections between agencies, jurisdictions, and industries that contribute to and benefit from better community health.
Projects
South Carolina Nurse-Family Partnership Social Impact Bond
Expand access to the Nurse-Family Partnership to an additional 3,200 first-time, low-income mothers and their babies across South Carolina. The project, launched in April 2016, deploys $30 million over 6 years to reduce preterm birth, improve healthy birth intervals, and prevent emergency department visits, with a particular focus on low-income communities in the state.
Connecticut Home Visiting Outcomes Rate Card
Develop and implement a state-wide outcomes contract for home visiting, linking payment to outcomes that generate value to families and society, support two-generation impacts, and are linked to administrative data.
Diabetes Prevention Landscape and Assessment
Partner with the Humana Foundation to assess the case for a large-scale expansion of diabetes prevention efforts via Pay for Success.
Haiti Cholera Impact Bond Term Sheet
Partner with the UN Special Envoy for Haiti and USAID to assess and refine the terms and structure of an impact bond focused on cholera elimination.
Nurse-Midwife Career Impact Bond Exploration
Partner with Johnson & Johnson and the Aspen Institute to assess the potential of student-friendly income share agreements to expand access to careers in nursing and midwifery for low-income people of color.
California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission
Collaborate with the state, counties, and community stakeholders to strengthen innovation and continuous improvement efforts under the Mental Health Services Act.
Publications
- “‘Government only pays for the positive outcomes.’ A strikingly new approach to social problems,” The Washington Post
- “Why don’t we fund more prevention?,” Social Finance
- “Increasing access to nursing training: Student-centered income share agreements as a potential solution,” Social Finance
- “Unlocking the potential of performance management with Goodwill Nurse-Family Partnership,” Social Finance
- “Supporting the holistic person: Mental health and Pay for Success,” Social Finance
- See more publications >>
Our Team
We focus on better birth outcomes, preventing child injury, reducing pediatric asthma hospitalizations, improving access to high-quality mental health services, preventing diabetes, helping people living with chronic illnesses get good jobs, and strengthening the health workforce. Our team members have diverse backgrounds across health sectors, including health care consulting, health systems strengthening, and digital health. Learn more >>
Contact Us
If you are interested in learning more about our health care work, contact Vice Presidents Jake Segal or Nirav Shah.