Policy Strategies for State Medicaid Agencies to Advance Community Health and Well-Being

Recent federal policy reforms and funding reductions pose significant challenges to state Medicaid programs. These changes will likely disrupt Medicaid agencies’ investments in innovative initiatives — such as efforts to address upstream drivers of health and modernize health information technology — that drive progress toward advancing high-quality, accessible, and cost-effective care. At the same time, Medicaid agencies can continue to preserve and scale promising innovations, with community voices playing an essential role in shaping priorities. This issue brief draws on community-based research conducted in North Carolina to identify policy approaches with potential impacts that align with Medicaid members’ priorities. Based on feedback from Medicaid stakeholders in North Carolina, we highlight two priority areas for advancing community health and well-being through innovation: (1) advancing whole-person, integrated care models, and (2) strengthening connections to the health care system and access to services. Across these two areas, we outline six policy strategies, showcase leading state examples, and discuss crosscutting considerations for implementation.  

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