Grant Partners

Project Directors: Thomas Byrne, PhD, Principal Investigator and Daniel Miller, PhD, Co-Investigator“A Data-Based Redesign of Health Care and Housing for People who Experience Chronic Homelessness” is a two year project that will assess the potential return on investment associated with several different housing intervention models for persons age 55 and above experiencing chronic homelessness. The research team plans to: describe the health care utilization patterns among Massachusetts residents over the age of 55 who are enrolled in Medicaid and experience chronic homelessness and compare those patterns to two other comparison groups, including a similar cohort who experiences homelessness on a temporary basis and a cohort who have not experienced homelessness; project health care costs over the next ten years associated with Massachusetts residents over the age of 55 who are chronically homeless and enrolled in Medicaid in the absence of a housing intervention; and analyze if/to what extent implementation of several different housing models targeted to chronically homeless adults aged 55 and older would lead to reductions in health care costs. Where applicable, the researchers will also estimate the potential return on investment associated with large-scale implementation of the housing models considered. This project will focus on Massachusetts but is expected to be part of a multi-state project involving other independent studies in California, New York, and Washington (pending funding for projects in each of these states), which share similar research objectives.

Disability Policy Consortium (DPC) will support the civil rights of people with disabilities by providing a unified voice for the community. DPC will promote consumer education and networking, community organizing, grassroots advocacy, policy promotion, and collaborative projects with government and nonprofit entities. It will continue its work with the DAAHR coalition and its Implementation Council, provide cross disability advocacy for access to health care, protect consumer choice and control, influence the implementation of One Care, integrate behavioral health into its work, and prioritize research focused on individuals with disabilities.

People Acting in Community Endeavors (PACE) will facilitate enrollment and redetermination assistance for many “hard to reach” target populations through partnerships with schools, career centers, and ESOL classes. They will also develop materials to help individuals interpret notices and remind them of pending actions, as well as conduct individualized enrollment and group health insurance literacy sessions.

LCHC has developed and implemented a fully integrated primary care and behavioral health program with co-location of services, co-management of patients by the medical and behavioral health providers through a shared care model, and utilization of shared electronic medical records through a newly-implemented Epic system.  The Foundation has supported the development, growth and improvement of this very strong behavioral health integration program, with continued funding for the health center’s response to the substance abuse epidemic in Lynn.  Building upon the learning and successes of its foundational behavioral health integration model, LCHC has developed an integrated primary care/mental health/addictions team of professionals who specialize in addictions and mental health disorders.  The team also utilizes medication to treat addictions, including Suboxone, with plans to add Vivitrol.  LCHC will expand this multi-disciplinary team by adding a psychiatrist, therapists, primary care providers, and nursing staff to serve approximately 800 patients.

Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee (CEOC) will plan outreach and enrollment activities at community locations. It will use an extensive follow-up system to address churn, ensuring that individuals have obtained the benefit they applied for and that all documents have been submitted.  It will conduct financial education and coaching to help ensure individuals can maintain their payments and minimize the risk of churn, and conduct educational coaching on health insurance literacy.

To enhance an online platform and to purchase a tablet.

Citizens' Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) is the leading statewide housing policy and research organization in Massachusetts, whose mission is to encourage the production and preservation of housing that is affordable to low-income families and individuals, and to foster diverse and sustainable communities through planning and community development.  CHAPA, in partnership with the Center for Social Policy (CSP) at the University of Massachusetts Boston, will conduct gap analysis research that will initiate the identification of programmatic and administrative barriers faced by vulnerable residents of the state when they try to use these resources.  While prioritizing health care and housing programs, and also focusing on child care and workforce training and development, CHAPA and CSP will identify the gaps and "disconnects" among existing programs, and identify ways to increase housing, health, and economic outcomes for low-income individuals and families.  Recommendations will be made about administrative, legislative, or regulatory changes that can be made to these eligibility systems, so as to benefit low-income families and individuals who often have to choose between necessities like housing, food, heat, or health care in order to make ends meet. 

To support technology enhancements and create brochures in Haitian Creole and Spanish.

To hire a consultant to work on developing a strategic plain and sustainability framework.

Project Directors: Laura Skopec, MS, Principal Investigator and Sharon Long, PhD, Co-Investigator“Community Matters: Understanding the Link Between Community Characteristics and High Uninsurance” is a one year project that will analyze the relationship between community socioeconomic, health system, and environmental conditions and the uninsured rate at the county and sub-county level. In addition, the researchers will assess how the characteristics of high uninsurance communities vary for particular subgroups (such as by age, gender, race and/or ethnicity). Through their work, which will rely on uninsured rates in Massachusetts based on the American Community Survey (ACS) files for 2010-2014 and Census Bureau data that will serve as proxies for community level socioeconomic, health system, and environmental conditions, the team will provide insight into the community characteristics associated with high uninsurance rates. The research team proposes to look at “outlier” communities – those that would be expected to have high levels of uninsurance based on their socioeconomic, health system and environmental conditions but do not, as well as those communities that would be expected to have low levels of uninsurance but do not.

Lynn Community Health Center (LCHC) will conduct outreach and partner with MassHealth and the Connector to host enrollment events. They will provide individualized education about the importance of maintaining coverage. Lynn will conduct post-enrollment follow-up to ensure access to primary care services and distribute guides to educate individuals on topics like eligibility and program requirements, assistance with citizenship or residence documentation, medical bills, referrals, and redetermination applications.

Brockton Neighborhood Health Center (BNHC) will provide outreach and enrollment assistance as well as assist clients with obtaining email accounts and accessing online applications through group sessions utilizing a bank of computers at partner organizations. BNHC will also provide Community Leader Forums that educate on health insurance literacy to local leaders of churches and cultural organizations.

Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition’s Health Access Campaign advocates for health care coverage for all immigrants. MIRA supports bills to lift caps for the Children’s Medical Security Plan, reduce out-of-pocket costs, and reinsert affordability protections for the lowest-income residents ineligible for MassHealth. MIRA will also convene a Task Force on Immigrant Healthcare Professionals to examine barriers to relicensing faced by thousands of foreign-trained health care professionals.

Funding for four staff members to attend the National Health Care for the Homeless conference in Washington D.C.

Hilltown Community Health Centers (HCHC) will work with small businesses, Councils on Aging, schools, employers, medical providers, and community organizations to conduct outreach, advertise in newsletters, print, and social media. They will work with the Connector to identify and target outreach to consumers who need to renew their coverage and partner with sheriff’s departments, courts and probation offices to reach recently incarcerated and court-involved individuals who experience higher rates of churn. To address health insurance literacy, they will develop consumer-friendly education tools and collateral.