California city seeks to cut asthma rate via bond issue

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The city of Fresno, Calif., will be the first municipality in the United States to see whether “social impact bonds,” an innovative security that promotes a societal benefit, can be used to tackle a major healthcare problem like asthma. Fresno is using this new pay-for-success model, which will reward investors providing the financing for the program, if incidents of chronic asthma are reduced in this community where 20 percent of the city’s population suffers from the ailment, compared to 8 percent nationally, according to a California Health Interview Survey. …