Majority of New York Social Care Networks will Leverage Unite Us to Align with 1115 Medicaid Waiver Goals, Serving Nearly 75% of State Medicaid Members

Social Care Networks across 9 of the 13 New York State regions are partnering with Unite Us to address health-related social needs, track outcomes, and facilitate reimbursements for Medicaid members to align with the goals of the 1115 demonstration waiver. 

NEW YORK, AUGUST 8, 2024 – Unite Us, the nation’s trusted technology partner for social care transformation, congratulates its partner organizations for being selected by the New York State Department of Health (NYS DOH) to lead the Social Care Network (SCN) in their region. In their role, SCN leads are responsible for maintaining a comprehensive network of community-based organizations (CBOs) that will be responsible for delivering and tracking services addressing health-related social needs (HRSNs) to eligible Medicaid members. 

Announced on August 7th, the NYS DOH’s selections included five Unite Us partner organizations that will serve nine regions, including Care Compass Collaborative (CCC), Health and Welfare Council of Long Island (HWCLI), Healthy Alliance Foundation Inc., Hudson Valley Care Coalition Inc., and Public Health Solutions (PHS). Unite Us will serve as the infrastructure for collaboration in each region’s network of CBOs, healthcare providers, and managed care organizations (MCOs), which together represent 72% of Medicaid members across the state. 

With Unite Us’ secure and proven technology, SCNs will be able to fulfill the requirements of the state’s 1115 Medicaid waiver by facilitating social care referrals, enabling reimbursements for CBOs providing services to members, and tracking outcomes. Together, this delivers the comprehensive data needed for NYS DOH and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to evaluate the waiver’s impact, which is a core component of the demonstration in order to determine the longevity of these services as a lasting benefit in managed care. 

A few of the recently appointed SCNs share their enthusiasm and goals for delivering the objectives of the 1115 waiver demonstration in their respective regions.  

Public Health Solutions (PHS): “Public Health Solutions is excited to scale WholeYouNYC, our coordinated, accountable, and modern network of organizations as the Social Care Network for three counties New York (Manhattan), Kings (Brooklyn), and Queens to provide greater access to services in New York City communities,” said Zachariah Hennessey, Chief Strategy Officer, Public Health Solutions. “We are committed to delivering on the goals of this demonstration to ensure these services are a lasting Medicaid benefit. Leveraging Unite Us, we will screen Medicaid members for health-related social needs and connect them to essential community resources while ensuring reimbursement to sustain service capacity.”

Health and Welfare Council of Long Island (HWCLI): “HWCLI is poised to scale our comprehensive and integrated social care system across the Long Island region as the Social Care Network, ensuring greater access to health and social care services for vulnerable members in our community,” said Lori Andrade, Executive Vice President, HWCLI. “Collaborating with Unite Us, we will develop a sustainable technology infrastructure for screenings, referrals, and reimbursement for HRSN services across our health and social care partners. This initiative promises to foster a lasting and transformative impact for years to come.”

Healthy Alliance Foundation Inc.: “As the lead entity for the Social Care Network in the Capital, Central, and North Country regions of New York, Healthy Alliance will continue creating stronger, healthier, and more connected communities,” said Erica Coletti, Chief Executive Officer of Healthy Alliance. “Our longstanding partnership with Unite Us has provided us with the technology infrastructure required to keep the community member at the center of all we do, having managed over 95,000 service requests through the platform. The 1115 NYHER Waiver presents a tremendous opportunity to strengthen and sustain the social care ecosystem of New York State, and we are honored to be part of it.”

Care Compass Collaborative: “Care Compass Collaborative is deeply honored to serve as the Social Care Network for the Southern Tier Region. We aim to build on our efforts to enhance access, improve quality, and reduce healthcare costs for Medicaid members, advancing health equity and reducing disparities with new HRSN services,” said Mark Ropiecki, Executive Director. “Using Unite Us as our technology infrastructure will allow partners to screen, refer, and reimburse providers for the new HRSN services while collecting comprehensive data to evaluate the waiver’s impact on the Department of Health and ensure the longevity of these services in managed care.”

Hudson Valley Care Coalition: “Our coalition of CBOs, hospitals, Federally Qualified Health Centers, county government, and behavioral health agencies, is honored to be selected as the Social Care Network in the Hudson Valley. We are dedicated to creating communities of health and wellness for all,” said Amie Parikh, CEO, of Hudson Valley Care Coalition. “Embracing shared technology across our network not only streamlines the process of screening, connecting vulnerable New Yorkers to HRSN services and providing reimbursement for these critical services but also fosters a sustainable healthcare ecosystem in the Hudson Valley. Leveraging Unite Us will bridge care gaps, enhance communication, and empower organizations to deliver more accessible care.”

Unite Us Advanced Technology and Commitment to Privacy & Security in 1115 HRSN Medicaid Waiver States

Unite Us is uniquely positioned to support 1115 Medicaid HRSN waivers by connecting individuals to essential social care services, offering integrated Medicaid member eligibility verification, and embedding a scalable payments solution that ensures CBOs receive fair, timely reimbursement to strengthen their capacity. 

These features are part of the Unite Us comprehensive closed-loop referral platform, which delivers unparalleled visibility into Medicaid members’ longitudinal care journeys to deliver real-time insights into screenings, referrals, and case outcomes spanning our accountable networks. This holistic approach promises to deliver the NYS DOH and the CMS with robust, standardized social care data across all SCN regions, leveraging Unite Us for effective program evaluation and optimization.

In addition to its market-leading technologies, Unite Us has become the industry’s most trusted partner for prioritizing the privacy and dignity of individuals seeking care. Unite Us New York partners trust their information will be protected and secure. Unite Us protects all social care information as though it were protected health information, employing the same security measures required by HIPAA for all data on our platform, regardless of where it originates. Our platform enables partners to securely exchange information to seamlessly connect members to services that can improve their health and well-being.

“We commend our SCN partners for their years of dedicated service to our community’s most vulnerable,” said Taylor Justice, Co-Founder, and President at Unite Us. “As the technological backbone for SCNs and their vast networks, we’re dedicated to streamlining screenings, referrals, and reimbursement processes while providing essential data to NYS DOH and CMS for program evaluation. Drawing from our experience with other HRSN Medicaid waiver initiatives in states like North Carolina and Oregon, we’re committed to delivering on the goals of this demonstration and advancing whole-person care. We’ll ensure that HRSN services become a lasting benefit in managed care.”

Nonprofits and CBOs seeking to join the Unite Us coordinated care network can connect through uniteus.com/contact/.