Developing a community health promotion agenda for a managed care organization

Coordination and collaboration between organizations interested in promoting the health of the populations they serve can potentially help to ensure that key services are provided as well as augment the efforts beyond that which could be accomplished by each organization alone. Understanding the perspectives of each organization can facilitate development of health promotion initiatives that will be of mutual benefit. In Maryland, when a Medicaid managed care program was initiated, Memoranda of Understanding were signed between each managed care organization (MCO) and each of the 24 local health departments; many stipulated that the parties will coordinate on community health issues. This report describes a telephone survey of the health departments that was performed by one MCO to better understand the interests and expectations of the health departments and discusses a process for developing a community health promotion agenda for an MCO.