With soaring rents and increasing home prices, many New Yorkers are struggling to secure and maintain safe affordable housing. Housing insecurity is tied to poorer health outcomes, and those of us working in health care recognize that the shortage of affordable housing is also a public health crisis that poses significant risks for millions of people in our communities — preventing them from living healthier lives and accessing quality healthcare.

The link between access to housing and access to health care is why my company — a major health care provider — has made meaningful investments in building affordable and workforce housing that includes community-based health care programming. Over the last 15 years, UnitedHealth Group, or UHG, has invested more than $1.2 billion in housing projects across the country, including here in New York. Of those projects, over 20% include onsite or nearby health programming accessible to all residents and community members. 

Take, for example, the Stella II project in New Rochelle. UHG partnered with the Community Preservation Corporation, or CPC,and other companies, contributing $15 million in financing to help increase affordable homeownership opportunities with the development of 126 condominium units. The project includes a 3,500-square-foot health clinic that will provide the residents and broader community with accessible primary and preventive care — regardless of ability to pay — as well as nutrition and wellness programs. 

The Stella II is just one project in a large state with a........

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