Sustainable Financing Approaches for Medicaid Managed Care Organizations to Address Health-Related Social Needs

April 6, 2023

The Center for Health Care Strategies recently partnered with the Association for Community Affiliated Plans to publish Financing Approaches to Address Social Determinants of Health via Medicaid Managed Care: A 12-State Review. This report explores how states are financing Medicaid managed care organizations’ (MCOs) health-related social needs (HRSN) activities and using federal flexibilities to do so.

This webinar, on April 6th at 4pm ET / 1pm PT, highlighted key takeaways from the report including how MCOs can strategically use financial resources to scale and sustain HRSN services. The webinar also featured perspectives from an MCO. Lessons can inform collaborative efforts across states, MCOs, and CBOs as they work to expand benefits beyond the traditional scope of health care.

Over the last decade, MCOs have made significant headway in developing initiatives to address both individual-level HRSN and community-level social determinants of health. New guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services expands these opportunities by allowing states to consider select HRSN services as Medicaid benefits, including housing and nutrition supports, as well as HRSN case management. This guidance, along with other recent changes to waivers, regulations, and requirements, adds nationwide momentum to integrate health and social care and promote health equity.

The Webinar featured the following speakers:

Jennifer McGuigan Babcock, Senior Vice President for Medicaid Policy, ACAP Diana Crumley, JD, MPAff, Senior Program Officer, CHCS Amanda Bank, MPH, Program Associate, CHCS Dwayne Dabbs, Senior Director of Community Transformation – Complex Health, CareSource
Angela Bickerstaff, National SDOH Strategy Lead for Food & Nutrition, CareSource Kyle Lowe, National SDOH Strategy Lead for Housing, CareSource Teresa Hottle, Director of SDOH, CareSource