Social Services

The social service market is defined as supports and services related to the social determinants of health such as poverty, food insecurity, lack of education, racism, discrimination, environment, and community conditions. Addressing social determinants of health has become a common strategic conversation in a market focused on whole person care and the value equation. Payers and health plans are taking a more structured approach to addressing social support needs and this opens new possibilities for managers of organizations that provide social support programs that have typically been excluded from health care financing arrangements.

Latest Resources

• Unite Us & Nomi Health Partner To Accelerate & Streamline Medicaid Payments For Community-Based Organizations 
• Executive Order Sets New Federal Policy On Homelessness & Civil Commitment 
• Odds Of Food Insecurity Higher Among Adults Needing Surgery
• New York City Afterschool Programs Failed To Ensure Access For Students With Disabilities 
• Stranded After School
• 30% Of Public School Districts Mandate Mental Health Screening, But Barriers Exist 
• Cost Management & The Complex
• National Governors Association Releases Strategies For Improving State Employment Of People With Disabilities
• Four Years Of $333 Monthly Cash Transfers May Not Be Sufficient To Improve Maternal Mental Health Or Child Well-Being For Families In Poverty
• California Schools To Start Earlier Post-Secondary Transition Planning For High School Students With Special Needs  
• August 2024 Assembly Analysis Of California AB-438 Pupils With Exceptional Needs: Individualized Education Programs – Postsecondary Goals & Transition Services
• California AB-438: Pupils With Exceptional Needs: Individualized Education Programs – Postsecondary Goals & Transition Services
• Texas Establishes ‘Building Better Futures Program’ To Fund Transition Planning & Postsecondary Programs For Students With I/DD
• Kentucky Medicaid Community Engagement Demonstration Request
• North Carolina Ends Medicaid HRSN Pilots Despite Savings & Fewer ED Visits

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North Carolina Ends Medicaid HRSN Pilots Despite Savings & Fewer ED Visits

On July 1, 2025, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) ended the Healthy Opportunities Pilots (HOP), which was enabled using Medicaid funds to pay for non-medical health related social needs (HRSNs). NCDHHS had been planning to expand the program statewide as late as March 2025 but the state’s General Assembly did not include funding for state fiscal years 2026 and 2027. A program evaluation found that HOP participation reduced spending on… Read

• California CARE Engages More Than 3,300 People With Severe Mental Illness
• California DHCS: The Community Assistance, Recovery & Empowerment (CARE) Act Annual Report
• North Carolina 1115 Waiver Renewal Healthy Opportunities Pilot Fact Sheet
• Older Adults Outnumber Children In 11 States & Nearly Half Of U.S. Counties
• Older Adults Outnumber Children In Nearly Half Of U.S. Counties

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