UNDERSTAND Act

The UNDERSTAND Act requires Medicaid and CHIP programs to collect standardized data on social determinants of health (like housing instability, food insecurity, and education access) for beneficiaries. States must use a new uniform reporting system to gather this information annually from healthcare providers, with guidance on privacy, avoiding duplicate screenings, and collecting child-related data through parents or guardians when appropriate. The law mandates a federal report to Congress within four years analyzing trends from this collected data to improve identification of social health needs. This affects Medicaid/CHIP beneficiaries indirectly through data collection, and directly impacts states (as they must implement reporting) and healthcare providers (who must submit standardized information).