Evaluation of the Medicaid Health Home Option for Beneficiaries with Chronic Conditions: Final Annual Report - Base Year

This report presents first-year findings of the long-term evaluation of Medicaid health homes which were authorized in Section 2703 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for high-need, high-cost beneficiaries with chronic physical conditions or serious mental illness. The Urban Institute is conducting the evaluation to assess state care models and processes; the extent to which health homes result in increased monitoring and care coordination; and whether these models result in better care quality, reduced hospital, skilled nursing facility, and emergency department use, and lower costs. The report examines six health home programs implemented in the four states with approved State Plan Amendments (SPAs) under section 2703 -- Missouri, Rhode Island, New York, and Oregon. Additional states will be selected for evaluation as their SPAs are approved. For each SPA, the Urban Institute is developing background materials on program design and implementation context and conducting site visits. The findings will inform a 2017 Report to Congress. [147 PDF pages]