This project is funded as part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s “Research in Transforming Health and Health Care Systems” program, which seeks to build the evidence base on the potential effects of policies or policy changes intended to transform health and health care systems. The goal of the project is to generate insights about the administration and implementation of North Carolina’s “Healthy Opportunities Pilots” initiative to help inform policymakers in that state, as well as policymakers in other states seeking to transform Medicaid to address enrollees’ social needs. Following an expert and stakeholder convening at the outset of the project, the researchers will conduct interviews with leaders, administrators, and frontline personnel from all levels of the Pilots initiative to explore their experiences building capacity and administering the program. Interviewees will also include key leadership from the federal government, from other states, and from major payers implementing or considering similar programs outside of North Carolina, as well as Medicaid enrollees and their representatives. In addition, the researchers will conduct case studies on four early innovators and exemplars in the Pilots initiative, such as human services organizations or other care management entities. Deliverables will include a project work plan and annual narrative and financial reports. The grantee will also produce paper(s) suitable for publication as well as case study reports and present findings at national research meetings and to other stakeholder audiences as appropriate, including policymakers at the federal, state, and local levels, as part of the deliverables for this grant.

Principal Investigators

Saunders headshot
Researcher

Robert S. Saunders, Ph.D.

Research Director, Payment and Delivery Reform - Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy at Duke University

Robert S. Saunders, Ph.D., is Research Director, Payment and Delivery Reform at the Duke-Margolis Center for H... Read Bio

Bleser headshot
Researcher

William K. Bleser, Ph.D., M.S.P.H.

Managing Associate, Payment Reform and Population Health

William K. Bleser, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., is Managing Associate, Payment Reform and Population Health at the Duke-Ma... Read Bio


Grant Number: 77257
Grant Period: 2/15/20 – 2/14/22
Budget: $250,000