Resources

A Beacon for Dark Times: Palliative Care Support During the Coronavirus Pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic intensified the already pressing need for the communication and symptom management expertise of palliative care specialists. Amid the surge of COVID-19 cases in New York City...
Accountable Care Organizations and Preventable Hospitalizations Among Patients With Depression
Accountable care organizations (ACOs) have shown promise in improving care for individuals with chronic conditions who also have coexisting mental health conditions, in part by incentivizing hospitals...
As It Grows, Medicare Advantage Is Enrolling More Low-Income and Medically Complex Beneficiaries
This analysis compared Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollees’ demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical characteristics plus health care utilization, spending, and quality of care in 2012 and 2015, and...
Driving Improvements in Hospital Care through Palliative Care Quality Incentives
Describes how two health plans — Anthem, Inc. and Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield —organizations introduced a palliative care measure into their hospital value-based payment programs, which has led to significant improvements in access to palliative care for their seriously ill members.
Identifying Patients with Increased Risk of Severe Covid-19 Complications: Building an Actionable Rules-Based Model for Care Teams
Cityblock Health provides care to populations with high rates of social, behavioral, and health risk factors, many of whom are at higher risk for complications from COVID-19. Cityblock developed a...
Integrated Care Models and Behavioral Health Care Utilization: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from Medicaid Health Homes
Medicaid health homes were created by the Affordable Care Act to improve care for Medicaid enrollees with complex behavioral and physical health needs. Health homes that target behavioral health...
Measuring Complexity: Moving Toward Standardized Quality Measures for the Field of Complex Care
Complex care programs across the country use varied criteria to identify people with complex health and social needs and measure the effectiveness of subsequent interventions. Greater standardization...
Empowering Goals of Care for Vulnerable Communities During COVID-19
Details the proactive approach of Cambridge Health Alliance, a public ambulatory care and hospital system in the Boston area, to initiate goals of care conversations with high-risk patients in their respiratory clinic.
Moving Toward Recovery-Oriented Complex Care through COVID-19 Response
David Labby, MD, health strategy advisor at Health Share of Oregon, outlines how the COVID-19 response presents key opportunities for health systems to build new relationships and approaches needed for a recovery-oriented approach to complex care.
Medicare Advantage Plans have a Unique Opportunity to Provide Needed Non-Medical, Health-Related Services During COVID-19
Explores opportunities for Medicare Advantage plans to provide non-medical supplemental benefits during COVID-19 — including in-home supports, meal and grocery deliveries, home modifications, and transitional supports — to help Medicare beneficiaries shelter at home.
Assessing The Capacity Of Local Social Services Agencies To Respond To Referrals From Health Care Providers
Although health care systems commonly refer individuals with unmet social needs to social service agencies, in some cases, these agencies may not have the capacity to provide adequate assistance. This...
Embedding Social Workers In Veterans Health Administration Primary Care Teams Reduces Emergency Department Visits
Integrated primary care teams have demonstrated positive impacts on patient care, but less is known about the impact of including social workers on these teams. This study evaluated the addition of...