UnitedHealthcare’s Investments in Affordable Housing to Help People Achieve Better Health Surpass $400 Million
27 March 2019 - 3:00AM
Business Wire
- Investments have helped build 80
communities in 18 states resulting in more than 4,500 new,
affordable homes with on-site support services to help people live
healthier lives
UnitedHealthcare announced it has surpassed $400 million in
investments in new affordable housing as part of the company’s
ongoing efforts to remove social barriers to better health for
people in underserved communities. The company has invested in 80
affordable-housing communities across the United States with more
than 4,500 new homes for individuals and families in need.
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Former homeless Vietnam veteran Jerry
Readmond (second from left), an advocate for homeless veterans,
shares his story during a groundbreaking ceremony for CommonBond's
Veterans Housing at Fort Snelling, which opened in 2015.
UnitedHealthcare was the largest investor in the new community,
part of more than $400 million the company has invested to build
new affordable housing communities throughout the country since
2011. L to R: Minnesota Housing Commissioner Mary Tingerthal;
Readmond; Paul Fate, president & CEO, CommonBond Communities;
Major General Rick Nash, Adjutant General, Minnesota National
Guard; Tom McGlinch, vice president, investment management,
UnitedHealth Group; and Warren Hanson, president and CEO of
Minnesota Equity Fund (Photo: Greg Page, May 2014).
The announcement coincides with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for
the PATH Metro Villas, a new 65-unit housing center made possible
by a $12 million investment from UnitedHealthcare for people
experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles.
“Access to safe and affordable housing is one of the greatest
obstacles to better health, making it a social determinant that
affects people’s well-being and quality of life,” said Steve
Nelson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare. “UnitedHealthcare partners with
other socially minded organizations that understand the value of
good health, and how public-private partnerships like these can
succeed in helping make a positive impact in our communities.”
UnitedHealthcare began its initiative in 2011, working with
leading affordable-housing advocates to invest in developments that
would increase access to housing, health care and social services.
UnitedHealthcare’s own Medicaid data show that when people who are
homeless have access to stable housing, their health is managed
more effectively. In one state, emergency room admissions dropped
60 percent, and total cost of care was 50 percent lower for people
enrolled in a housing program.
UnitedHealthcare has made its investments through national and
regional affordable-housing organizations such as Enterprise
Community Investment, Greater Minnesota Housing Fund, US Bank,
Affordable Equity Partners and Chicanos Por La Causa, Inc., among
many others, by providing critical equity through state and federal
tax credit programs and low-interest loans and financing.
“Enterprise and our partners like UnitedHealthcare are making a
seismic shift in the health and housing sectors,” said Charlie
Werhane, president and CEO of Enterprise Community Investment.
“Together, we are putting health at the center of developing
well-designed affordable homes, and elevating them as an essential
tool for improving people’s health.”
Nearly 15 million Americans currently lack access to stable
housing. According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission
on Health, the shortage of affordable housing limits people’s
choices about where they live, often relegating lower-income
families to substandard housing in unsafe, overcrowded
neighborhoods with higher rates of poverty and fewer resources for
healthy exercise and outdoor activities (e.g., parks, bike paths
and recreation centers, etc.). The financial burden of unaffordable
housing can prevent families from meeting other basic needs
including nutrition and health care, and is particularly
significant for low-income families.
“UnitedHealthcare’s investments in affordable housing recognize
the important connection in managing the social determinants that
influence well-being,” said Warren Hanson, Greater Minnesota
Housing Fund president and CEO. “It’s difficult for many families
to think about a job, school or their family’s health without
reliable housing. UnitedHealthcare understands that link and has
been an important partner in making a positive impact across the
country.”
A critical element of UnitedHealthcare’s affordable-housing
initiative is investing in new communities that include on-site
amenities and services, such as clinical health care services,
social and support counseling and monitoring, job training,
academic support and adult education classes, childcare, computer
labs and playgrounds. Another goal is to improve access to
affordable housing for people with the greatest need including
seniors, military veterans, people living with disabilities, and
those struggling with homelessness.
Examples of UnitedHealthcare’s investments include:
- $12 million for PATH Metro Villas (Los
Angeles), where UnitedHealthcare is the largest investor for the
new 65-unit supportive-housing community that provides permanent
homes to people who have been suffering from homelessness or
struggling to find stable housing.
- $11.7 million for Capital Studios
(Austin, Texas), the first affordable-housing development built in
the city in 45 years, featuring 135 efficiency apartments for
single adults, with 25 percent reserved for homeless
individuals.
- $14.5 million to help build two
affordable-housing communities in Minneapolis to help military
veterans and their families struggling with homelessness with
on-site supportive services and access to veteran health and social
services programs.
- $7.9 million for New Parkridge
(Ypsilanti, Mich.), a new affordable-housing development with 86
duplexes, townhouses and apartments centered around a large
community building featuring on-site support services for residents
that provides greater access to health care, education, job
training and childcare, among other services.
- $21 million for Arizona’s largest
nonprofit community-development organization, Chicanos Por La
Causa, Inc. (CPLC), to build nearly 500 new homes to help
Phoenix-area low- and moderate-income individuals and families
access quality, affordable housing with supportive services.
- $7.8 million for Gouverneur Place
Apartments, a 68-unit affordable-housing development in the Bronx
that integrates high-quality housing with supportive services for
people living with mental disabilities.
- $7.7 million to build The Vinings at
Greencastle, an 80-unit affordable-housing community for seniors in
Clarksville, Tenn.
Housing is one facet of UnitedHealthcare’s commitment to
redefine healthy living for the uninsured and underserved. The
company is also investing in programs and partnerships focused on
food, transportation and social isolation across the country.
About
UnitedHealthcareUnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping
people live healthier lives and making the health system work
better for everyone by simplifying the health care experience,
meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted
relationships with care providers. In the United States,
UnitedHealthcare offers the full spectrum of health benefit
programs for individuals, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid
beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1.2 million
physicians and care professionals, and 6,500 hospitals and other
care facilities nationwide. The company also provides health
benefits and delivers care to people through owned and operated
health care facilities in South America. UnitedHealthcare is one of
the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified
health care company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare
at www.uhc.com or follow @UHC on Twitter.
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Lynne HighUnitedHealthcare952-979-5861lynne_m_high@uhc.com
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