About 30% of individuals experiencing homelessness within the U.S. dwell in California. One well being insurer is making a significant funding to help this inhabitants.
California-based Well being Web is offering $46 million in grants to assist all Medi-Cal members discover housing and different companies, the insurer lately introduced. Medi-Cal is the identify for California’s Medicaid program. The group provides protection for 3 million folks by means of particular person and household plans, employer-sponsored insurance coverage, Medicare and Medi-Cal. About 2.2 million of those members are in its Medi-Cal program.
The grant cash might be unfold out throughout 26 counties in California, and can help Continuum of Care applications, that are regional or native planning our bodies that assist these experiencing homelessness discover housing and different companies.
Particularly, the funds might be used to extend partnerships and assist native organizations present referral companies. This contains extra housing navigation, serving to Continuum of Care applications provide everlasting housing and supporting Medi-Cal redeterminations (the method for figuring out if somebody remains to be eligible for Medicaid, which was placed on pause throughout the Covid-19 public well being emergency and resumed in April).
The cash may also be used to enhance the info trade between Well being Web and Continuum of Care applications, revamp Homeless Administration Info System platforms and help workforce improvement initiatives. The Homeless Administration Info System is a expertise system that collects information on the supply of housing and companies to those that are unhoused.
As well as, the grants will enhance supply companies and member engagement for folks experiencing homelessness. This contains avenue outreach companies and avenue medication.
“By way of these investments, Well being Web is working to enhance well being outcomes and entry to complete individual care companies by addressing housing insecurity and instability as a social determinant of well being for the Medi-Cal inhabitants,” stated Martha Santana-Chin, Medi-Cal president at Well being Web, in an e-mail.
Well being Web’s funding is a part of its participation in California’s Housing and Homelessness Incentive Program (HHIP), a voluntary program that gives incentive funds to Medi-Cal managed care plans that make investments in bettering the homeless disaster. This system was permitted by the Facilities for Medicare and Medicaid Providers in 2022, however Well being Web’s participation in HHIP is a “continuation of investments in grants and applications to assist the unsheltered that we’ve been making since 2017,” Santana-Chin stated.
“General, we really feel it’s our duty to the communities we serve to spend money on progressive approaches to enhance entry to high quality care and higher well being outcomes for Californians,” Santana-Chin stated.
The $46 million funding follows a $1.5 million grant Well being Web offered to Keck College of Medication of USC’s Road Medication program earlier this yr. That grant is creating two applications that put together avenue medication workforces to look after unsheltered populations.
Well being Web additionally teamed up with L.A. Care — one other insurer — in Could to commit $114 million to help the unhoused in Los Angeles County. L.A. Care allotted $80 million of the funds and Well being Web allotted $34 million. The cash is getting used to safe as much as 1,900 housing items.
Different insurers and well being organizations are additionally making investments to help these experiencing homelessness. CVS Well being has made a collection of investments in reasonably priced housing, together with $10 million in Indianapolis and $14.3 million in Seattle. In 2022, UnitedHealth Group made a $100 million funding in housing.
Photograph credit score: Lolon, Getty Photos
