Networks of support help patients navigate complex systems

The Accountable Health Communities demonstration was the first project by the CMS’s Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to test a model for bringing health care providers, payers, and community-based organizations together to address patients’ social determinants of health. Allina was one of twenty-eight “bridge” organizations located in both big cities and rural areas in twenty-one states that received CMMI funding to act as service hubs. Those organizations included health systems, insurers, health information exchanges, a public health department, academic institutions, and community organizations. Each bridge organization received up to $1.17 million over the course of five years to coordinate the program with a variety of partners, with the goal of determining whether addressing patients’ social needs reduced total health costs and care use and improved beneficiary and provider experience