Health

Investments in critical programs and services aimed at community prevention, oral health, substance abuse and mental health and health equity have the potential to improve health outcomes and reduce costs. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) makes health system reform a mandate at the highest levels of government and heralds a new era of health system transformation for the coming decades. Yet, several factors make it difficult to provide coordinated access to care: increases in the uninsured and under-insured, growing demands for service, increases in the undocumented population, and large gaps in affordable dental care.Opportunities to enhance health care service coordination, improve access to specialty services (i.e. dental, vision and substance abuse treatment) can reduce chronic disease prevalence and improve population health. A focus on the most vulnerable populations (i.e., low-­income, uninsured and the socially marginalized) can reduce health care costs for the most high ­risk patients.

The Kingdom has a long commitment to supporting several strategies that will improve the health care delivery system, increase access to preventative and specialty care to vulnerable populations, and promote community wellness. This is accomplished through three strategic health areas:

1. Improving access to health care to achieve a well­-integrated, highly­ functioning, public health system;

2. Implementing health system reform through the successful implementation of the well­ integrated, highly­ functioning,  

        public health system; and

3. Preventing and reducing obesity supporting programs that employ successful strategies to prevent and reduce obesity.