This study, funded as part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Systems for Action research program, evaluates the effectiveness of California’s CalAIM Medicaid Waiver program in integrating social service and public health organizations into Medicaid coordinated systems of care for individuals with complex health and social needs. CalAIM is designed to dismantle forms of structural racism by investing nearly $2 Billion in helping Medicaid health plans and medical providers forge stronger alliances with local social service organizations and public health agencies in addressing the complex health and social needs of Medicaid beneficiaries, including paying for nonmedical services needed by these beneficiaries.

This study evaluates the effectiveness of an aligned service delivery and financing model designed to improve maternal and infant health by helping Medicaid-eligible persons receive access to healthy foods during pregnancy. The Nourishing Tomorrow (formerly Nourishing Beginnings) program uses integrated data, screening and referral systems combined with community health worker support to link people in need with healthy food delivery from a local food bank or with direct cash assistance for food purchases.

This study investigates whether a novel type of social bond can pool resources across multiple competing health plans and create stable, long-term financing for interventions that address social determinants of health. The bond's design would allow multiple health plans participating in Minnesota’s Medicaid program to invest collectively in a fund that finances community-based interventions targeting social issues such as food insecurity, housing instability, transportation, and structural racism.

A vast majority of older Americans who are eligible for federal nutrition assistance programming remained un-enrolled, placing them at increased risk of food insecurity and its associated adverse health conditions and healthcare costs. A research team led by Benefits Data Trust and the UPMC Center for High-Value Healthcare will study the health and economic effects of a novel health plan strategy to increase benefit program enrollment.

Populations with diabetes can successfully manage their condition if they have regular access to primary care along with access to quality food, physical, and social environments that support healthy lifestyles. Lack of safe, convenient, and affordable transportation options can make it difficult for low-income populations to access these resources. A research team led by Georgia State University will use a randomized trial to test several low-cost ways of improving transportation opportunities for low-income urban diabetic patients, including providing public transit vouchers, ride-share credits on Lyft, a cash benefit, or mobility counseling compared with usual medical care alone.