Community Health Worker

Health insurance coverage for 1 in 5 Americans is at risk as states respond to changes included in HR1/OBBB. These changes follow significant cuts to federal public health funding. Because state Medicaid agencies will have to do more with less, they will need to focus on policies and cost-effective programs with demonstrated results — and may want to consider investing in community health worker (CHW) programs. More

Community health workers, promotores, and community health representatives have historically relied on a patchwork of grants for funding, but more than half of state Medicaid programs have now implemented some form of CHW/P/CHR coverage and payment policy. This toolkit provides model language for state Medicaid leaders and CHW/P/CHR advocates to use as they develop State Plan Amendments and accompanying guidance documents to establish coverage and payment for CHW/P/CHR services. More

Scaling up the role of community health workers (CHWs), which is essential for the future of U.S. public health, economic recovery, and social justice, requires significant workforce development to address the lack of a CHW career pipeline and high rates of turnover. Yet, little evidence exists to guide this work. More