First few Article Sentences
In the 35 years that Molina Healthcare has been serving the low-income population, we’ve learned that physical health issues represent just a fraction of the challenges our members face. In our experience, the issues of members living with chronic medical conditions, mental health disorders, substance abuse, financial insecurity, limitations to performing activities of daily living, and virtually all problems related to well-being are often exacerbated by a challenging socio-economic environment.
It’s also true that, the more complex the case, the lower the likelihood of healthy long-term outcomes—and the greater use of higher levels of care, at least some of which are avoidable. Many of these patients get much of their care at the onset of acute symptoms, relying on Emergency Rooms for care that could be much better delivered in a primary care office setting. The presence of behavioral health conditions, commonly under-diagnosed or inadequately treated, pose additional barriers to managing physical health.