Employer Application of Community Health Worker Research

Many evaluations of CHW services remain unpublished, especially in the for-profit sector, yet employers rely on internal measurement of cost-effectiveness and return on investment, as well as published research, to justify investment in CHW services. There is presently no mechanism for sharing or aggregation, especially of proprietary data, to help inform public policy, yet a growing number of for-profit firms and nonprofit organizations are turning to CHWs to make services more effective for vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations under Medicaid and other programs. APS is one of the largest healthcare companies in the public programs area, serving more than 30 percent of the nation's Medicaid population through nearly 40 programs in more than 15 states, and has a research partnership with the National Center for Primary Care at Morehouse School of Medicine. APS also partners with the National Association of Community Health Centers for various volunteer programs in several states. This presentation will explore some opportunities to make the research-policy connection work more effectively for employers such as APS and public policymakers at the state and federal levels.