ASTHO Update: Strengthening the Role of Public Health Agency Officials in the Health Safety Net System

ASTHO and the Center for Health Care Strategies interviewed or surveyed staff from public health and Medicaid agencies in Arkansas, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Oregon to understand the ways in which the two agencies collaborate to deliver clinical services and shape and implement policies in the healthcare safety net system. You can view how those states included public health principles into their contracts with Medicaid managed care providers to improve health outcomes in their states.

Massachusetts opts to use CHIP administrative funding to help support its Health Services Initiatives (HSIs). To implement the HSIs, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) allows states to use up to 10% of their total CHIP spending for activities designed to protect public health, including public health programs and certain preventive services, including clinical and supportive services, for children in CHIP and other low-income children otherwise ineligible for CHIP.

Leveraging Partnerships Between Public Health and Medicaid to Strengthen the Healthcare Safety Net