Across the country, states are launching new payment models that reward quality, promote care integration, improve access, and address the social determinants of health (SDOH) in an effort to improve population health. One of these ground-breaking initiatives is Rhode Island’s Accountable Entity (AE) Program, created to improve the health of Rhode Islanders enrolled in Medicaid managed care plans.
Rhode Island’s program is designed to encourage Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) and providers to deliver more cost-effective care through value-based payments, improve coordinated care delivery, and focus on population health in ways that go beyond traditional clinical care. Rhode Island Health System Transformation Project Director Lauretta Converse and AE Program Director Deborah Correia Morales, members of National Academy for State Health Policy’s (NASHP) State Accountable Health Models workgroup, recently shared how their program is addressing SDOH during the first year of AE implementation. (author introduction)