2023 Cohort: Social Determinants of Health
Medicaid Innovation Collaborative's second cohort seeks to identify scalable solutions to close gaps in social needs for Medicaid beneficiaries in Iowa, Kentucky, and New York.
Overview
The Medicaid Innovation Collaborative (MIC) aims to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals on Medicaid by connecting the ecosystem to tech-enabled innovations. The 2023 cohort enables state Medicaid programs, their managed care plans, and other key stakeholders to identify and implement solutions to address the health related social needs of Medicaid beneficiaries. Those selected from the Application Review process will have the opportunity to pitch their solution directly to Medicaid directors, managed care plans, community members, and other stakeholders for potential contract opportunities.
About the 2023 Social Determinants of Health Focus
Innovative strategies and solutions are needed to successfully address the health-related social needs of Medicaid beneficiaries. As disparities have remained unchanged over decades, solutions must overcome the social, economic, and environmental disadvantages outlined in the research, with the goal of equitable access and outcomes.
Addressing social needs is important for improving health and reducing longstanding inequity in health and health care. The participating MIC states prioritized addressing the challenges associated with social determinants of health. Informed by in-depth research with Medicaid beneficiaries, the MIC process aims to identify and showcase innovative solutions that can demonstrate a positive impact in addressing at least one of the social needs outlined in the Areas of Focus below.
Research Insights
Addressing health-related social needs in Iowa, Kentucky, and New York requires multiple strategies and approaches to address the variety of challenges faced by Medicaid beneficiaries. In partnership with the three 2023 cohort states, MIC conducted research with Medicaid beneficiaries to inform this process. These insights uncovered that individuals on Medicaid typically have multiple, interrelated social needs, which are risk factors for poor health outcomes. More detail on insights from our research can be found in the report linked below.
2023 SDOH Applicants
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MIC has developed a sourcing and selection process that engages state, managed care, and community stakeholders in defining a health equity goal, identifying and assessing vendors that support these goals, and supporting the consideration and implementation of these vendors to ensure these solutions are sticky, scalable, and deliver impact.
2023 SDOH Showcase Presenters
Showcase presenters were selected from a pool of over 100 applicants, through a robust RFI and selection process that was informed by beneficiaries, managed care organizations, state Medicaid agencies, community organizations, providers, and subject matter experts from across the Medicaid spectrum.
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Presenters were split into two topic areas:
Participating States and Health Plans
The following three states and their managed care plans partnered with Medicaid Innovation Collaborative in this effort.
The New York State Medicaid Department is excited to be partnering with the Medicaid Innovation Collaborative to help us identify innovative solutions to improve the social drivers of health and address health equity. We believe it is essential to address social determinants of health in order to address the health needs of New Yorkers and believe there is an important role innovation will play in meeting these needs.
Amir Bassiri
Medicaid Director, Office of Health Insurance Programs
New York State Department of Health