Transforming Care: the Medicaid Innovation Initiative

Austin Howald is the Director of Integrated Community Services at Chestnut Health Systems. His work targets the intersection of mental health, housing insecurity, and social drivers of health. The overarching theme of our conversation is "what innovation in healthcare looks like" through the lens of the Medicaid Innovation Initiative. We discussed: 

• The Fundamental lessons that have informed Austin's approach to his work (the importance of providing support without judgment, etc.) 

• How the Medicaid Innovation Collaborative (MIC) works, Chestnut’s multipronged role in it, standout examples, and how they made it cost-effective. 

• The metrics used to measure innovation in healthcare,  focusing on social drivers of health and their impact on patient outcomes.  

• The importance of using consistent language when discussing concepts such as social determinants vs. social drivers of health, among other common terms of art, especially when engaging with a broader audience.