Innovations in Health Care Delivery & Financing

On November 16, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released new guidance detailing the coverage pathways for services and supports to address health-related social needs (HRSN) services, such as housing and nutrition interventions, in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).  This guidance responds to growing nationwide momentum to address negative health outcomes, […]

Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule with exciting new Medicare payment policies for certain services addressing health-related social needs: (1) Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Risk Assessment, (2) Community Health Integration (CHI) services to address unmet HRSN that affect the diagnosis and treatment of a patient’s medical […]

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has unveiled exciting proposals for  Medicare reimbursement of certain key services that support health-related social needs: community health worker services, navigation services, and social determinants of health risk assessment.   More specifically, CMS is considering reforms to the Physician Fee Schedule that will better identify and value, through […]

The Health Law Lab, in partnership with California’s Medically Supportive Food & Nutrition Steering Committee, released the final case studies in a series of five focused on California’s efforts to expand access to and coverage of nutrition interventions and other services for people enrolled in Medicaid.

Insights on new program can advance health equity, improve access to care, help speed adoption of similar policies nationwide. Today, the Health Law Lab at the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation (CHLPI) of Harvard Law School, in partnership with California’s Medically Supportive Food & Nutrition Steering Committee, released new case studies illuminating efforts […]

Last month, CHLPI and 37 institutional and individual signatories sent a letter to the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) urging inter-agency collaboration to address policy barriers to Contingency Management, the only evidence-based treatment for stimulant use disorder. Contingency Management (CM) is a behavioral health intervention that rewards participants with incentives for achieving target […]

Last week, the United States Preventive Services Taskforce (USPSTF) released its first-ever Draft Research Plan on Preventive Services for Food Insecurity (the “Draft Research Plan”). The Draft Research Plan, available for public comments until March 23, 2022, is an exciting step toward more sustainable coverage of Food is Medicine interventions across the country. This blog […]

Understanding that access to affordable, healthy food is fundamental to the population’s health and wellbeing; and without such access, individuals face greater risk of disease and increased health care costs, experts from three leading organizations came together to offer key strategies to address the challenges to food access and good nutrition in a special report […]

Initial research outlines opportunities to increase access to healthy foods during hunger & Covid-19 crises. Today the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School (CHLPI) announced the launch of Mainstreaming Produce Prescription (Rx) Programs, a new initiative to increase access to nutritious food and improve health outcomes for people with diet-related diseases. […]

By Margaret Dushko, Harvard Law School ‘21 Medicaid 1915(c) Home and Community Based Services Waivers keep vulnerable patients from needing institutional care by providing services at home and in the community like coverage for home health aides and home-delivered meals. Emergency Appendix K modifications present a critical opportunity for states utilizing the Medicaid 1915(c) Home […]

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic shines a harsh and unforgiving spotlight on the impacts of the social determinants of health. New data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that people who are homeless or in congregate living facilities face additional challenges that can exacerbate the spread and severity of COVID-19. CDC […]

Explicit protections under federal health care fraud and abuse laws for arrangements that support social determinants of health have the potential to profoundly impact Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries and others, and to help health care providers succeed in achieving value-based care. This is why we were so excited last October, when we wrote about proposed […]

Health care is a highly regulated industry with complex sets of rules put in place to safeguard, among other things, patients and federal health care program dollars. These legal frameworks, while important, were not designed with the current health care system transformation in mind and many stifle its implementation. Advocates working on the integration of […]

Over the years, the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School’s work with community based organizations, health care providers, payers, and government officials has highlighted that health relies on more than a visit to the doctor’s office. Emerging models of community-clinical partnerships address the ways that our homes, food, environment, and […]