Samuel T. Opoku, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Community Health, Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University. Dr. Opoku received his Ph.D. in Health Services Research Administration and Policy from The University of Nebraska Medical Center. Throughout his life in academia, Dr. Opoku’s research has sought to generate actionable evidence that would improve the health and healthcare access of disadvantaged populations through stakeholder engagement and the use of innovative research methods. He has disseminated his work through publications in reputable journals, policy briefs and technical reports, and presentations at several scientific and practice conferences as well as to state and local community leaders and policymakers. His current research efforts center around health delivery system improvement, particularly in rural settings.
Collectively, regulatory pressures, organizational strategy, and market forces influenced Medicaid Managed Care Organization’s efforts to address social determinants of health, leading to a normalization of their role in addressing members' social needs within a medical paradigm.
The goal of this 2020 project is to comparatively assess the social determinants of health (SDOH)-focused activities of managed care organizations (MCOs) and their impact in states with and without either a contractual mandate or incentives to align contractual requirements and payment mechanisms with such efforts.
This article discusses findings from RTHS 2020 grantee Samuel Opoku and Charles Owens.
This article discusses findings from RTHS 2020 grantee Samuel Opoku and Charles Owens.