Community Health Workers: Part Of The Solution

Authors: E. Lee Rosenthal, J. Nell Brownstein, Carl H. Rush, Gail R. Hirsch, Anne M. Willaert, Jacqueline R. Scott, Lisa R. Holderby and Durrell J. Fox

Community health workers are recognized in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as important members of the health care workforce. The evidence shows that they can help improve health care access and outcomes; strengthen health care teams; and enhance quality of life for people in poor, underserved, and diverse communities. This article traces how two states, Massachusetts and Minnesota, initiated comprehensive policies to foster far more utilization of community health workers and, in the case of Minnesota, to make their services reimbursable under Medicaid. It also recommends that other states follow the lead of these states, further developing the workforce of community health workers, devising appropriate regulations and credentialing, and allowing the services of these workers to be reimbursed.