Center for Health Care Strategies

The Center for Health Care Strategies has provided health literacy fact sheets to help improve health literacy practices. The fact sheets define health literacy, identify limited health literacy, highlight the connection between health literacy and health equity, how to improve written communication and how to improve verbal communication to promote patient health literacy.

The Center for Health Care Strategies has released a report exploring the benefits of developing Health-Related Social Needs (HRSN) interventions that address the medical, behavioral, and social components of health for Medicaid enrollees. The report examines the need for community-based organizations (CBOs) that specialize in social care, such as food and housing services, to partner with health care organizations (HCOs) to provide more equitable, whole-person care. Drawing from leading-edge state Medicaid programs that require formal CBO-HCO partnerships, the report provides best practices and implementation considerations for other states interested in strengthening CBO-HCO relationships.

The Center for Health Care Strategies recently released several new resources all centering around how to better support older adults with the Multi Sector Plans for Aging (MPA). A multisector plan for aging refers to the multi-year planning and execution process that brings together partners to address the needs of the older adult population in a state. Some of the new resources include strategies for first steps and development of a MPA, advice and best practices from states with MPAs in place, and how family caregiving can help shape a states MPA.

The Center for Health Care Strategies released a blog post covering best practices and advice for creating a multidisciplinary and multi sector plan for aging. The post was authored by Kim McCoy Wade, senior advisor of Aging, Disability, and Alzheimer’s to the California governor. The post dissects the planning process for creating a multi sector plan for older adults and people with disabilities and how to work with multiple stakeholders all vying to reach the same goal.

The Center for Health Care Strategies published a brief highlighting six states – Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Virginia – who have participated in innovative work to boost the support network for family caregivers. The brief includes lesson learned from each of the states’ programs and policies that support family caregivers. Additionally, the brief describes four elements that are essential to making effective changes to family caregiver support programs.

This brief looks at states who operate Medicare-Medicaid integrated care models based on demonstrations under the federal Financial Alignment Initiative (FAI) or through Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) that are aligned with Medicaid managed care plans. It explores factors that contributed to state investment and successful program implementation. The brief also provides an overview of opportunities for other states interested in creating or enhancing integrated care programs.

This brief from the Center for Health Care Strategies discusses how accountable care organizations (ACOs) have become increasingly prevalent in the United States. This brief highlights the results of Medicaid ACO programs across the country to date, as well as key themes and lessons from these early adopters. It also examines how Medicaid ACO programs have evolved over time.

This resource identifies key challenges related to oral health care access and utilization for low-income adults, and outlines states’ current coverage of dental benefits for adults in Medicaid.

For individuals who receive services from both Medicare and Medicaid, care is often fragmented across a wide array of medical, behavioral health, and long-term care providers. Medicare and Medicaid offer otherwise uncoordinated systems of care with different eligibility criteria, benefits, provider networks, and enrollment processes. This issue brief describes key features of effective integrated care programs and presents top policy considerations driving state investment in these programs.

This brief analyzes dental service use and cost data for non-elderly Medicaid-enrolled adults by individual, community, and state-level factors. This brief is intended to help stakeholders identify opportunities to improve access to care and, ultimately, achieve sustainable oral health improvements for low-income adults.