Medicaid / Medicare / CHIP

Community health centers operate in the poorest urban and rural communities that experience elevated health risks as well as a serious shortage of primary health care. Immigrants are disproportionately likely to be poor, and therefore experience a greater need for publicly supported health services. Community health centers serve large numbers of immigrants, not only because of their location but also because of the extent to which health centers have adapted their care and services to meet immigrants’ unique language, cultural, and health needs.

By Sara Rosenbaum, Leighton Ku, Peter Shin, Jessica Sharac, Maria Velasquez

Most Medicaid beneficiaries have health insurance coverage through managed care organizations (MCOs), so the contracts that state Medicaid programs negotiate with MCOs shape the care their low-income populations receive. In recent years, states have increasingly used their managed care contracts to encourage improvement for specific groups or in specific areas, such as maternal health, and drive innovations in care and payment reform.