UnitedHealthcare Health Teams With Community Health Workers

UnitedHealthcare Community & State is a Medicaid managed care organization operating in 26 states. It has incorporated community health workers into its health team to help members with complex needs who also experience barriers with access to care—to connect them to behavioral, medical, and social supports. Community health workers build rapport and trust with patients, teach them how to utilize the health care system (e.g., the importance of the primary care provider relationship and appropriate use of the emergency department), and connect patients to nonclinical community-based resources to address the social determinants of health. For example, the community health worker may accompany the patient to a primary care visit and help them find resources in the community to better manage their chronic conditions. The community health worker role contributes to improved health outcomes, member experience, and improved efficiencies. Augmenting the traditional health care workforce with community health workers also allows licensed staff to work at the top of their licensure. To read more about this innovative program, see this brief summary [link].