What if the key to lowering costs and improving outcomes in your plan offerings isn’t in your claims data but in where your members live, what they eat, and how they get to the doctor?

In this episode of Healthcare NOW Radio, Elizabeth Levy, Managing Director at AArete, reveals how payers can transform social determinants of health (SDOH) into a predictive, profit-driving strategy. She shares real-world examples, hard data, and a blueprint for embedding SDOH into plan design for maximum return.

“SDOH has shifted from being this kind of pie-in-the-sky, ‘wouldn’t it be nice’ to a business imperative—a lever to manage costs, improve outcomes, and build sustainable competitive advantage.”

–Elizabeth Levy, AArete Managing Director

Why This Conversation Matters for Payers

SDOH factors—income, housing stability, food access, transportation, education, and more—directly shape members’ health outcomes. Payers already have extensive data to pinpoint at-risk members, but turning that insight into sustainable, measurable interventions is where many plans struggle.

Levy offers a behind-the-scenes look at how leading organizations:

• Embed SDOH into plan design and actuarial modeling from day one—avoiding the high costs and low ROI of retrofitting programs later.
• Orchestrate vendors strategically with aligned KPIs to prevent duplication, fragmentation, and cost overruns.
• Leverage AI to predict “rising risk” members before they become high-cost cases, enabling proactive, personalized interventions.
• Integrate social variables into financial and risk models, making SDOH part of core business strategy, not a side project.

From Insights to Implementation

Levy’s perspective underscores a critical shift: the payers seeing measurable impact embed SDOH in business operations. With predictive analytics, coordinated vendor ecosystems, and real-time member engagement, these organizations are redefining care delivery, transforming reactive models into proactive, high-impact strategies.

Listen to the Full Discussion

For payer executives navigating the complex landscape of risk adjustment, value-based care, and total cost of care management, this episode is a must-listen. Hear Elizabeth Levy’s full insights on how to turn social determinants into a competitive advantage.

 Listen to the full podcast here