During our third and final session of our Political Determinants of Health Member Roundtable series, we focused on Medicaid partnerships. We led with a brief overview of Medicaid funding pathways and then more specifically examined partnerships between Health Impact Ohio and Ohio Medicaid and West Virginia Health Information Network and West Virgina Medicaid. There were so many great insights, some of which are captured here:

• Key tactics for Medicaid funding partnerships:
  • Coordinate public and private data and technology strategies and investments.
  • Integrate data, interoperability, and technology needs into all health transformation and modernization activities, programs, and services.
  • Communicate benefits and value adds to all partners.
  • Maximize federal match technology planning, implementation, and maintenance.
  • Align programs and investments at the county or community level.
• In working to address unmet health related social needs in new ways, use data to build the case, and then generate data to show outcomes and efficacy.
• Assess resources and gaps, one of which may be workforce. In the case of the Central Pathways Community Hub, an initiative of Health Impact Ohio, there was a need to develop a community health worker workforce.
• Acknowledge the political climate in your state, and then:
  • Align with the goals of both parties, in other words, find common interest.
  • Build relationships on both sides of the aisle.
  • Fill gaps in meaningful ways.
  • Show ROI.
  • Align payment and policy.
• Make use of new opportunities presented by federal and state legislative and regulatory developments, such as the MCO maternal and infant mortality “hub” reimbursement mechanism created by SB 332 in Ohio and CMS’ expanding Certified Community Behavioral Health Center program.
• Increase education among stakeholders.
• Center on community, and the community’s needs.
• Look across your state’s agencies, and be willing to bridge holes, making you a partner in creating alignment.
• One way to not only increase your organization’s sustainability, but also increase greater connection across your state’s health ecosystem is to braid, blend, and stack funding streams from multiple sources.
• Start small, define a use case or a project, show value, and you will build credibility.
• Getting messaging right is critical. Be very thoughtful about how you share your value among various stakeholders.
• Be patient, this work takes time, and be ready when the call comes.

In case you missed this event, or want to revisit the discussion, materials are now available!