AMA Journal of Ethics^®

Access to shelter can improve health outcomes for individuals experiencing homelessness and reduce overall health costs.

Where people live and work influences how long and how well they live. Supporting community investments can diminish risk, improve outcomes, and reduce costs.

Health care reform expanded health insurance to millions, but current community benefit policies must be used by organizations hoping to address social determinants.

Changes to CB tax policy could promote engagement with public health departments, collaboration with community-based nonprofits, and greater focus on health equity.

Many pregnant undocumented immigrants are ineligible for public insurance covering prenatal care. National and state policies can either help or hinder patients’ access to health care that is universally recommended by professional guidelines.

As billable procedures, advance care planning (ACP) conversations need measurable outcomes and training support. Integrating ACP into standard practice is key to ensuring clinicians deliver care that matters to patients.

Pathologists should work cooperatively with clinicians and provide guidance about appropriate testing to uphold the medical ethics principle of justice.

In King v. Burwell, the Supreme Court determined that the phrase “an Exchange established by the State” in the Affordable Care Act includes exchanges created by the Department of Health and Human Services (HSS), thereby rendering users of HHS exchanges eligible to receive subsidies.

Although the Affordable Care Act represents a step toward realizing the right to health in reducing the number of uninsured, a right to health encompasses the social factors that determine health on a population scale.

The ACA’s major changes to health insurers’ practices, which include requirements for adequate and affordable health insurance coverage, have resulted in a substantial reduction in the number of uninsured people in the US.