05/06/2015

New York State’s Medicaid Redesign Recognized for Innovations in American Government

On May 5th the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, recognized the New York State Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) as one of the top five finalists in this year’s Innovations in American Government Awards competition.

The announcement recognizes the Top 25 programs in the award competition. In addition to being recognized as a Top 25 program, MRT is one of five finalists now competing for the $100,000 grand prize awarded on May 20 in Cambridge. The programs honored were selected by a cohort of policy experts, researchers, and practitioners.

Supportive Housing – affordable housing tied with critical support services - has been a central piece of the State’s Redesign efforts. Since 2011, New York State has committed to re-investing $500 million of state Medicaid savings in the MRT Supportive Housing Fund, which is providing financing to create supportive housing for Medicaid recipients.

CSH, through our role on the MRT Supportive Housing Workgroup, has been advising government partners and other key stakeholders on the most efficient ways to direct supportive housing funds to address the needs of high-cost, high-need frequent users of health care as well as inappropriately institutionalized individuals. MRT monies have been allocated for capital, operating and services in supportive housing and have resulted in over 1,000 new supportive housing beds for some of the State’s most vulnerable people

“New York is truly leading the nation with its transformative investments in social determinants of health – like supportive housing – to improve the lives of some of the State’s costliest people who cycle in and out of crisis systems with no improvements to their health and at great costs to the State.  Recognizing that housing is indeed health care, will hopefully lead to a global shift of how we deliver services.” Kristin Miller, CSH Director in New York.

CSH congratulates the State of New York on this well-deserved recognition. The press release announcing the recognition MRT received is available here; and you can learn more about the MRT and its Supportive Housing programs and pilots here.

RELATED RESOURCES

Housing is the Best Medicine: Supportive Housing and the Social Determinants of Health

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