Massachusetts Community-Based Organization Perspectives on Medicaid Redesign

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Public Health Policy
• Community Engagement

Background:

• Medicaid policy changes increasingly aim to integrate social determinants of health (SDOH) into healthcare.
• Community-based organizations (CBOs) play a crucial role in addressing SDOH.
• Massachusetts has actively incentivized healthcare organizations to address SDOH through initiatives like Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how community-based organizations perceive Medicaid policy changes.
• To understand CBO perspectives on partnerships with healthcare organizations for SDOH initiatives.

Main Methods:

• Conducted 46 key informant interviews with representatives from 44 CBOs in Massachusetts.
• Interviews took place between September 2017 and March 2018.
• An Advisory Board provided feedback on data collection and analysis.

Main Results:

• CBOs expressed optimism regarding future collaborations with healthcare organizations.
• CBOs identified potential conflicts with healthcare organizations, including misaligned goals and timelines.
• Lack of clarity on the Medicaid redesign and healthcare provider partnership expectations hindered CBO strategy development.

Conclusions:

• Medicaid policy shifts can foster partnerships between CBOs and healthcare organizations.
• Involving CBOs in strategy development and program implementation is crucial to mitigate conflicting agendas.
• Policymakers and healthcare leaders should actively engage CBOs in SDOH initiatives.