Addressing social drivers of health in the Medicaid managed care environment

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, states were already working toward addressing social drivers of health (SDOH) within Medicaid managed care, which provides health care for seven in 10 Medicaid beneficiaries. Most states that provide Medicaid managed care services had already included some SDOH requirements on one or more of the following domains: screening, data collection and reporting, care coordination, staffing dedicated to SDOH activities, provider training, member education, performance measures, and payment.

Key lessons and findings from these studies revealed not only how much the pandemic institutionalized SDOH considerations into the health care landscape but also the opportunities and challenges that exist in states’ evolving efforts to establish a more expansive and inclusive approach to addressing SDOH.