Why Housing is the Best Medicine: A Conversation on Health Equity in Travis County

In recognition of National Wellness Month, the latest episode of our Let's Talk About It series explores one of the most critical, yet often overlooked, aspects of community well-being: the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH). These are the non-medical factors, like where you live, the stability of your housing, your access to food, and your transportation options, that have a profound impact on health outcomes.

We were honored to host Dr. Pat Lee, President and CEO of Central Health, and Dr. Tim Mercer, its Director of High-Risk Populations, for a powerful discussion on this topic. They explain why, in Travis County, your ZIP code can be a more powerful predictor of your lifespan than your genetic code. The disparities in our community are staggering. A 10- to 20-year life expectancy gap exists between neighborhoods east and west of I-35. This isn't a failure of medicine, but a direct consequence of historical and systemic inequities that affect everything from housing quality to food access. For our neighbors experiencing homelessness, the reality is even more dire, with mortality rates ten times higher than the general population. Beyond the undeniable human tragedy, there is a staggering financial cost to inaction. Dr. Lee introduces the concept of the "cost of no care", a metric that calculates the total economic burden of health disparities, including lost productivity and the value of lost life. In Travis County, that cost is an estimated $1.1 billion, every single year.

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