The recent brief from the Center for Health Care Strategies, Building Successful Managed Care Programs with Community Health Workers’ Expertise, highlights the transformative role of community health workers in addressing social determinants of health and improving outcomes for under-resourced communities. At PCHI, we fully align with these findings and recognize the immense value CHWs bring to care coordination.
CHWs are uniquely positioned to connect with individuals and families, often serving as trusted liaisons between healthcare systems and their communities. As the CHCS brief emphasizes, managed care programs that successfully integrate CHWs achieve better outcomes and more equitable care. However, realizing this potential requires a framework that enables CHWs to systematically identify and address health-related social needs while linking their work to measurable outcomes. The CHCS brief further underscores the importance of training, infrastructure, and payment models to support CHWs in this essential work. The PCHI Model embodies all these principles and serves as that framework in nearly half of all U.S. states and over 40 communities.
At its heart, the PCHI Model expands the impact of CHWs by providing them with the tools, training, and support they need to succeed. Through the Model, CHWs are well-equipped to navigate complex healthcare and social service systems. Our training programs prioritize care coordination as well as the cultural competency and advocacy skills CHWs need to build trust and engagement within their communities. Additionally, the PCHI Model ties payment to outcomes, ensuring CHWs are compensated while providing accountability and transparency for funders and managed care organizations.
As highlighted in the CHCS brief, CHWs are essential to achieving health equity and must be integrated into managed care systems. At PCHI, we are committed to supporting efforts to not only address immediate health and social needs but also establish sustainable systems of care coordination that foster long-term change.
We are proud to support CHWs in transforming lives and advancing health equity in under-resourced communities across the U.S.
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