Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS)

This brief outlines key recommendations to further Medicaid and public health opportunities and cross-agency partnerships that advance health equity. These cross-agency efforts can use three broad strategies to promote health equity: (1) advance internal-facing health equity work; (2) leverage data to drive health equity efforts; and (3) engage community members authentically.

CHCS senior program officer, Diana Crumley, JD, MPAff, has helped state Medicaid agencies, health plans, and community-based organizations think through issues regarding health-related social needs and social care integration over the last four years. This blog post outlines four lessons from her experience supporting health care stakeholders address health-related social needs and health inequities, while focusing on advanced primary care and Medicaid managed care.

This editorial, by the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) and The John A. Hartford Foundation explores how employers and states can support employees with caregiving responsibilities through flexible workplace policies, tools, and resources. The editorial highlights resources from two states participating in CHCS’ Helping States Support Families Caring for an Aging America initiative.

The Center for Health Care Strategies, with support from the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, conducted a 50-state survey and a set of interviews to gauge the broad range of engagement strategies being used by Medicaid agencies. This report highlights key findings from the survey, including engagement themes, challenges, and recommendations for Medicaid agencies that can have lasting impact on outcomes, quality, equity, and cost.

In this episode of the Medicaid Leadership Exchange podcast series, Ivory Banks, chief of staff at the Department of Medical Assistance Services, Commonwealth of Virginia, and Marlia Mattke, assistant administrator at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, share their successes and challenges in pursuing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts that better support staff of color in Medicaid agencies.

This episode of the Medicaid Leadership Exchange podcast discusses ways to address inequities in Medicaid. Ben Shaffer, Medicaid Director at the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services, and Kelly Cunningham, Interim Medicaid Administrator at the Illinois Division of Medical Programs, Department of Healthcare and Family, will be sharing how effective data measurement is critical for Medicaid programs to advance equity and better understand the populations served.

CHCS published a Medicaid Policy cheat sheet detailing the importance of family caregivers. The resource reviews legislation and efforts led by the Biden Administration to support unpaid family caregivers, and answers the following questions: Who are family caregivers and what do they do? What hardships do family caregivers face as a result of providing care? How can legislation help family caregivers?

This resource outlines state examples of accountable care organizations’ incentives that can be used to advance health equity. This resource is a product of Advancing Health Equity: Leading Care, Payment, and Systems Transformation, a national program based at the University of Chicago, operated in partnership with CHCS and the Institute.

The Center for Health Care Strategies, in partnership with the California Health Care Foundation as well as In-Sight Associates, Health Management Associates, and Schoen Consulting, is developing a series of resource packages that share best practices for supporting the integration of community health workers and promotores into programs run by Medicaid managed care plans for members of Medi-Cal. Download the resource to learn more.

This brief shares considerations for health care organizations and government entities seeking to build effective partnerships with the individuals and communities they serve to better address their health and social needs. It draws from the experiences of two sites — Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis and the Los Angeles Department of Health Services Whole Person Care Program — that participated in the Community Partnership Pilot, a CHCS made possible by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.