Manatt Health Partner Melinda Dutton was quoted in a Health Plan Weekly article discussing North Carolina’s Healthy Opportunities Pilots program and how the state is leading the way in addressing health-related social needs.
North Carolina, which introduced the program to help high-risk Medicaid beneficiaries, was the first state to gain federal authority for such a program focusing on health-related social needs. The program aims to provide whole-person care to residents, particularly those suffering from food, housing and transportation insecurities.
Since its launch, many enrollees have observed an increase in savings per month in health care expenditures, and other states have initiated similar programs. "North Carolina isn't alone," Dutton said. "Other states have been looking at this issue of getting further upstream addressing health-related social needs as a strategy to improve health and reduce costs. What sets North Carolina apart is the breadth of the services that they are offering and the fact that they have been operating now long enough to have this evaluation."
Health Plan Weekly subscribers can read the full article here.