CSH is proud of our longstanding partnership with Summit 2019 sponsor UnitedHealthcare, and the work we are doing together to promote new collaborations and innovations between leaders in the healthcare and housing sectors.
CSH engages UnitedHealthcare, as trailblazers in several aspects of health services, through the lens of our expertise on supportive and affordable housing models, including our Frequent Users Systems Engagement (FUSE) initiative. We continue to build our joint communications and coordination to further other possibilities for healthcare and supportive housing partnerships.
Two years ago, UnitedHealthcare was a key investor in Los Angeles County’s Just In Reach (JIR) Pay for Success program, a health-based housing program that will reduce jail recidivism and help end homelessness among people experiencing repeat jail stays. JIR is placing homeless individuals currently in custody within the county jail, and who have a mental health and/or substance-use disorder, into supportive housing.
In addition to direct investment, UnitedHealthcare is instrumental in fostering opportunities where housing and healthcare agencies and advocates can come together to find common ground, and formulate goals that advance supportive housing and better care for vulnerable populations.
CSH, the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA) and UnitedHealthcare Community & State have launched a joint cross-sector project called ‘Improving Health by Aligning Housing and Health Systems.’
With the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, local and national project members work together to improve health outcomes of Medicaid beneficiaries being served through managed care and living in federally assisted housing, including units within Public Housing Authorities (PHAs). Five communities have been selected to receive assistance with a one-year planning initiative that will design and develop local interventions to align health and housing resources at the person, program and system levels.
After an intensive review process, Columbus and Akron, Ohio; Houston and Austin, Texas; and Seattle/ King County, Washington, were chosen for this project assistance.
Each community is developing a multi-pronged strategy for improving health care, addressing health disparities, reducing costs, and creating an integrative system and policy roadmap.
Individual sites will develop place-based initiatives that will leverage the capacity, resources and expertise of CLPHA and its member PHAs, CSH and UnitedHealthcare. At the end of the planning period, each community will have an implementation and evaluation plan focused on improving the health of Medicaid beneficiaries, which could lead to lower costs over the long term.
UnitedHealthcare has been a sustaining sponsor of CSH regional conferences focused on housing-healthcare alliances and cooperative actions, including a very successful series of events held annually in Texas until 2017. They also are one of the marquee sponsors of our national CSH Summit 2019 being held April 30 through May 2 at the JW Marriott, Indianapolis, Indiana.