Integrating Housing Support Services and Health Care for Medicaid Beneficiaries
Emmeline Chuang, Professor
Social Welfare
Closed. This professor is continuing with Fall 2024 apprentices on this project; no new apprentices needed for Spring 2025.
The purpose of this study is to describe lessons learned by health and human service organizations in integrating housing support and health care for Medicaid beneficiaries experiencing homelessness or at-risk of homelessness. Data are drawn from the statewide evaluation of California’s Medi-Cal Whole Person Care Pilot Program (WPC), which was implemented from 2017-2021 by 25 local pilots as part of the state’s Section 1115 waiver, and from the statewide evaluation of California's CalAIM initiative, which includes new Community Supports benefits currently being implemented across the state.
As part of WPC, 25 pilots in 26 California counties sought to integrate medical, behavioral health and social services to improve health outcomes and reduce healthcare costs for individuals with complex medical, behavioral, and social needs. The program was primarily focused on serving Medi-Cal beneficiaries who had multiple chronic conditions and were at high risk of frequent hospitalizations and emergency room visits.
WPC took a holistic approach to healthcare, addressing not only physical health but also mental health, substance use, and housing stability. It aimed to coordinate care across various healthcare providers and social service agencies, ensuring that individuals received the right services at the right time. It also used healthcare dollars to address social determinants, such as providing housing support services for individuals with complex health care needs, recognizing that having a safe place to live is critical for managing chronic health conditions.
This study will examine implementation lessons learned at multiple levels (e.g., organization level, client level) to inform policy and practice for the integration of housing support services and health care.
Role: Primary activities to focus on assisting with qualitative analysis of key informant interviews and narrative reports submitted by pilots to the state. Tasks could include coding interview transcripts in Dedoose (software access and training will be provided) and summarizing key themes from coded interview content.
Potential secondary activities may include: Finding, reviewing and summarizing publicly available literature on housing support services; Developing basic summary statistics (totals, percentages, averages, etc) on survey data using STATA or Excel; Other duties based on student interest and the needs of the project.
Qualifications: *Prefer students majoring in public health, social work, public policy, journalism, or related fields.
*3rd or 4th year students preferred.
*Strong writing skills and attention to detail required
*Interest in or familiarity with research literature in the following or related areas: public health, social determinants of health, health & social services integration, implementation science, and cross-sector collaboration.
*Proficiency with MS Word, Excel, and online library and journal search engine resources
*Experience with qualitative software (NVivo, Dedoose) preferred.
*Experience with quantitative data analyses (Stata or Excel) a plus.
*GPA minimum 3.0.
Hours: to be negotiated
Off-Campus Research Site: Flexible / remote work
Related website: https://healthpolicy.ucla.edu/publications/search/pages/detail.aspx?PubID=2133
Related website: https://healthpolicy.ucla.edu/publications/Documents/PDF/2023/Final-Evaluation-WPC-Selected-Findings-infographic-feb2023.pdf