HJBR Mar/Apr 2023

54 MAR / APR 2023 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE COLUMN MEDICAID tional, hands-on support. Either out of distrust, uncertainty, or simply confusion, Medicaid recipients don’t always tell the truth or the whole story to their doctor, who might base medical decisions on inaccurate or incomplete information. But CHWs are often able to leverage their interactions by getting insights or important details that clinicians can’t, helping to strengthen our health systems and advance person- centered care. Quality over quantity Because they integrate healthcare with personal care, CHWs help bridge care gaps as well as address the shortages of clinical providers stressing an already burdened healthcare system. It’s quality ally progressing. Today, care management includes terms like “population health,” “whole person,” “medical/behavioral in- tegration,” “social determinants of health” (SDOH), “health equity,” and “commu- nity-based care.” But addressing health disparities is more than an evolving vo- cabulary. It is a commitment to communi- ty-based innovations that can help remove barriers to care, because access to health- care services is critical to good health, particularly in rural communities where the barriers are numerous. In Louisiana, almost one-third of our population lives in a rural area, making access to care an ongoing challenge. Integrating Communi- ty Health Workers (CHWs) is an effective way to reach Medicaid recipients enrolled in care management but in need of addi- WE KNOW that only 20% of health out- comes are a result of clinical care. The rest is determined by social and environmental conditions such as economic opportunity, education, and safe, affordable housing. In other words, overall health is not achieved in a doctor’s office, but in the communities where we live, work, worship, learn, and play. Unfortunately, though, the reality that not everyone has an equal opportunity to achieve optimal health and well-being re- mains. And for Medicaid recipients, this is especially true and why Medicaid Manage Care Organizations (MCOs) are focused on health equity . With the overall goals of improving care, improving outcomes, and reducing costs, programs and models of care de- veloped by Medicaid MCOs are continu- Working to Put Health in Our Communities COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS: