Innovation and opportunities to address social determinants of health in Medicaid managed care

The Medicaid program provides health care coverage to more than 70 million Americans who are most vulnerable to the negative effects of unmet social needs. An important opportunity exists within the Medicaid program to identify and address the unmet social needs and risk factors that havea significant impact on health outcomes and costs. With access to enrollee health data, Medicaid managed care organizations (MMCOs), with the support of state Medicaid agencies and community-based organizations (CBOs), are well positioned to coordinate both the health and social components of care that will have the most influence on the outcomes of individual enrollees (and families). However, better coordination, supported by state policy and financial mechanisms, might be needed to improve MMCOs’ capacity to fulfill this opportunity. The extent to which the Medicaid program can successfully address the social determinants of health could have a substantial impact on population health