Webinar: Using Social Determinants of Health Data in Medicaid Managed Care – A Webinar for States
Amy Lischko, Bailit Health Purchasing; Ellen Breslin, Health Management Associates; Arlene Ash, UMass Medical School
State Health and Value Strategies, a program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is pleased to announce the third in our series of webinars for state officials on achieving population health goals.
Using Social Determinants of Health Data in Medicaid Managed Care – A Webinar for States
State policy makers are increasingly focused on social determinants of health (SDOH) because of the important influence of these determinants on health care outcomes and Medicaid spending. Bailit Health’s Amy Lischko, kicked off the webinar with an overview of the methods for gathering SDOH data, and then the range of possible uses of the data by state policy makers.
The webinar delved into innovative efforts by state health policy leaders working to factor SDOHs in payment reform and quality measurement activities. First, Health Management Associates’ Ellen Breslin explored how states could factor SDOH into improved payment models and quality measurement activities drawing on a forthcoming issue brief from SHVS, Medicaid and Social Determinants of Health: Adjusting Payment and Measuring Health Outcomes. Next, University of Massachusetts Medical School’s Arlene Ash, described a new payment model that Massachusetts Medicaid is using to adjust managed care payments for certain social risk factors among enrolled populations. The webinar closed with the three panelists responding to questions from participants.
This event was the last in a three-part series of technical assistance webinars hosted by State Health and Value Strategies and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The series explores timely issues facing state health care leaders and features actionable information on what states can do. To access a recording and materials related to the first two webinars in the series, see immediately below.
“Shared Accountability Across Health and Non-Health Sectors: Opportunities to Improve Population Health,” click here.
“Medicaid Value-Based Payment for LTSS,” click here.
Medicaid enrollment has increased by over 10 million (or 15 percent) from February 2020 through February 2021 across all states since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. States have a clear imperative to center health equity as they plan for the end of the public health emergency (PHE) given that Black, Latino/a, and other people of color are most at risk of coverage loss. This expert perspective highlights strategies states can implement to ensure that the end of the PHE does not exacerbate already widespread racial and ethnic disparities in our health care system.
COVID-19 vaccines are now widely accessible in the United States and free to everyone over the age of 12. Given the spread of the Delta variant, there is an urgent need to increase vaccination rates, particularly among Medicaid enrollees. States across the country continue to report Medicaid enrollees are getting vaccinated at lower rates than the general population. This expert perspective explores how state Medicaid managed care programs and health plans can work collaboratively to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates for the more than 55 million Medicaid enrollees in comprehensive managed care plans.
Many states are looking to fill gaps in race and ethnicity data for Medicaid and related agencies. Working with the State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) at the University of Minnesota, with support from the State Health and Value Strategies (SHVS) program, New York tested multiple strategies aimed at encouraging applicants to answer the optional race and ethnicity questions. This expert perspective highlights an effort by New York’s official state-based marketplace, NY State of Health, to improve the completeness of race and ethnicity data that applicants share when applying for Medicaid; Child Health Plus, the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP); the Essential Plan, New York’s Basic Health Program (BHP); or Qualified Health Plan (QHP) coverage through its Marketplace.
