Developing Sufficient Rates. As of January 2024, there was significant variation in Medicaid payment rates for CHW/P/CHR services covered by state fee-for-service (FFS) programs, ranging from just under $10 to $35 per 30 minutes.18 For comparison, the average national rate for 30 minutes of Medicare Community Health Integration services provided by a CHW is $50.26.19 States with SPAs authorizing […] More

1. (Definition) A community health worker, promotore, and community health representative (CHW/P/CHR) is a frontline public health worker who is a trusted member of and/or has an unusually close understanding of the community served. This trusting relationship enables the worker to serve as a liaison/link/intermediary between health/social services and the community to facilitate access to services […] More

Overview Community health workers, promotores, and community health representatives (CHW/P/CHR) are a workforce that addresses people’s health-related social needs. A large body of research suggests that well-designed CHW/P/CHR programs improve chronic disease control and mental health, promote healthy behaviors, reduce hospitalizations, and increase participation in primary care. However, CHW/P/CHR programs have mostly relied on a patchwork […] More

Fear is a powerful force. Fear for her daughter’s safety drove my sister to take a bullet to protect my niece from a carjacker. Fear of raising their children in a “culture of violence” led friends of mine to relocate to another country.  While some fear is an important survival mechanism — life has risks […] More

A trip home to help with Appalachian mountain relief work in the wake of Hurricane Helene brought lessons on trust and community for Morgan McDonald, Milbank’s National Director of Population Health and Health Equity Leadership. More

The first time Utah state Rep. Steve Eliason was asked what he was going to do about a rash of youth suicides in his suburban Salt Lake County neighborhood, he didn’t know what to say.  Some of the people asking were parents whose children had taken their lives. Others were friends and classmates of the […] More

Some payers are pursuing strategies beyond traditional health care systems by focusing on public benefit programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). However, there is an intuitive but underutilized partner for payers seeking to increase SNAP and WIC uptake among their members: grocery stores. More

The closures of rural hospitals and obstetric services has created an urgent need for innovative approaches to maintaining high-quality obstetrics care in these areas. In the past 10 years, over 200 rural hospitals have discontinued providing labor and delivery services; now less than half of rural hospitals provide this care.   In March 2024, leaders […] More

The Milbank Memorial Fund is committed to the leadership development, nonpartisanship, and the depolarization efforts needed to bring all parties to the table to think critically and debate with civility as we collectively move toward better health and health care systems for all the populations we serve. As part of this work, we are inviting […] More

A new Medicaid-based program in North Carolina is expected to relieve approximately $4 billion in medical debt. More