Medicaid Innovation Collaborative Announces Funding From Leading Mission-Aligned Organizations

SAN FRANCISCO, April 26, 2022 (Newswire.com) - Innovative, tech-enabled solutions have the potential to address deep-rooted health disparities among Medicaid beneficiaries and improve access, quality, and coordination of care, but many of the solutions are currently underused.

To accelerate the adoption and scale of available solutions, Medicaid Innovation Collaborative (MIC) launched an innovation program for Medicaid focused on health equity. Through the program, MIC provides state Medicaid agencies and their managed care organizations a framework to deploy innovative solutions, with support for research, technical assistance, and peer learning. MIC then identifies high-impact companies that will be considered for implementation. MIC also incorporates the perspectives of providers, community organizations, and beneficiaries, ensuring all stakeholders have a voice in the solutions that are selected. 

"There is immense power in technology to support people and companies to be more efficient, more structured, and more impactful, and this power needs to be paired with efforts to earn the trust of the community," said Ji Im, CommonSpirit Health's System Senior Director for Community and Population Health. "In order for technology to address the deep-rooted inequities that states, health plans, and communities are facing, we have to listen to the people who will benefit from and use the solutions we're all aiming to create. The solutions we design through partnerships like this should make it easy to do the right thing. And that requires trust and humility." 

Through donations from The MolinaCares Accord, CommonSpirit Health, and Hopelab, MIC will support Medicaid beneficiaries in achieving their highest level of health. Acumen America, one of three founding organizations, also provided funding to seed the program. These grants will enable MIC to launch the program's first cohort and build the strategic and operational foundation for future cohorts. 

"MolinaCares is committed to addressing health equity issues and improving the health and well-being of the communities we serve," said Carolyn Ingram, Executive Director of Molina Healthcare Charitable Foundation. "We are excited about the opportunity to partner with the Medicaid Innovation Collaborative in its endeavor to positively affect health outcomes."

The inaugural cohort includes state agencies, health plans, and community representatives from Arizona, Hawaii, and West Virginia.

"MIC is an important initiative to advance health equity by increasing access to innovative solutions for populations that have historically been underserved," said Margaret Laws, President and CEO of Hopelab. "As early-stage impact investors, we see tremendous opportunity for companies that serve Medicaid beneficiaries. We are excited to support this cross-sector collaboration with the ultimate goal of improving the mental health and well-being of young people, which is core to our mission."

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About Medicaid Innovation Collaborative: Medicaid Innovation Collaborative (MIC) is an innovation program to advance health equity in Medicaid. MIC was launched by three organizations committed to the health and well-being of low-income Americans:  Acumen America, Adaptation Health, The Center for Health Care Strategies.

Source: Medicaid Innovation Collaborative