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Innovations in Health Care Delivery & Financing

Our Work

While many social determinants of health interventions can have a powerful impact on health outcomes and costs, the availability of these services is often limited by lack of sustainable health care funding. The Health Law Lab advocates for opportunities to integrate services that address the social determinants of health into existing and emerging payment models, and works with partners to drive related health system reform.


Key Projects

CalAIM Waiver Case Study Series

The Building Partnerships to Advance Nutrition in California’s CalAIM Waiver case study series illuminates efforts in California to expand access to and coverage of nutrition interventions and other social services through Medicaid.  By documenting the operational and logistical hurdles faced by community partnerships standing-up programs under this groundbreaking waiver, as well as solutions to these challenges, the series provides important takeaways for stakeholders in California – and nationwide – who are looking to address food access and nutrition, health-related social needs, and health equity through sustainable funding pathways in Medicaid and health care.  


Related Blog Posts

  • Multiple Topics
  • November 20, 2023

JUST RELEASED: CMS Guidance on Addressing Health-Related Social Needs in Medicaid and CHIP

On November 16, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released new guidance detailing the coverage pathways for services and supports to address health-related social needs (HRSN) services, such as housing and nutrition interventions, in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).  This guidance responds to growing nationwide momentum to address negative health outcomes, […]

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New Codes Offer Reimbursement For HRSN Services in Medicare Part B

Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule with exciting new Medicare payment policies for certain services addressing health-related social needs: (1) Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Risk Assessment, (2) Community Health Integration (CHI) services to address unmet HRSN that affect the diagnosis and treatment of a patient’s medical […]

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  • Multiple Topics
  • July 31, 2023

New Medicare Payment Policy Proposal Tackles Key Health-Related Social Needs Services

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has unveiled exciting proposals for  Medicare reimbursement of certain key services that support health-related social needs: community health worker services, navigation services, and social determinants of health risk assessment.   More specifically, CMS is considering reforms to the Physician Fee Schedule that will better identify and value, through […]

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  • Multiple Topics
  • January 31, 2023

Harvard Health Law Lab Case Studies Pinpoint Early Successes, Challenges of California’s Innovative Medicaid Program

Insights on new program can advance health equity, improve access to care, help speed adoption of similar policies nationwide. Today, the Health Law Lab at the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation (CHLPI) of Harvard Law School, in partnership with California’s Medically Supportive Food & Nutrition Steering Committee, released new case studies illuminating efforts […]

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  • Multiple Topics
  • January 27, 2023

Policy Reform Key to Unlocking the Potential of Contingency Management

Last month, CHLPI and 37 institutional and individual signatories sent a letter to the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) urging inter-agency collaboration to address policy barriers to Contingency Management, the only evidence-based treatment for stimulant use disorder. Contingency Management (CM) is a behavioral health intervention that rewards participants with incentives for achieving target […]

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  • Multiple Topics
  • March 2, 2022

National Task Force Announces Draft Research Plan on Preventive Services for Food Insecurity

Last week, the United States Preventive Services Taskforce (USPSTF) released its first-ever Draft Research Plan on Preventive Services for Food Insecurity (the “Draft Research Plan”). The Draft Research Plan, available for public comments until March 23, 2022, is an exciting step toward more sustainable coverage of Food is Medicine interventions across the country. This blog […]

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  • Multiple Topics
  • January 5, 2022

Newly Released Report Recommends Pathways to Address Food Access and Nutrition in Medicaid Programs

Understanding that access to affordable, healthy food is fundamental to the population’s health and wellbeing; and without such access, individuals face greater risk of disease and increased health care costs, experts from three leading organizations came together to offer key strategies to address the challenges to food access and good nutrition in a special report […]

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  • Multiple Topics
  • October 1, 2020

New Initiative to Mainstream Produce Rx Programs Promotes Access to Healthy Food for Lower-Income & At-Risk Groups

Initial research outlines opportunities to increase access to healthy foods during hunger & Covid-19 crises. Today the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School (CHLPI) announced the launch of Mainstreaming Produce Prescription (Rx) Programs, a new initiative to increase access to nutritious food and improve health outcomes for people with diet-related diseases. […]

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  • Multiple Topics
  • May 1, 2020

States with Medicaid 1915(c) Waivers Should Use Appendix K Modifications to Ensure Continued Care for the Most Vulnerable Patients!

By Margaret Dushko, Harvard Law School ‘21 Medicaid 1915(c) Home and Community Based Services Waivers keep vulnerable patients from needing institutional care by providing services at home and in the community like coverage for home health aides and home-delivered meals. Emergency Appendix K modifications present a critical opportunity for states utilizing the Medicaid 1915(c) Home […]

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  • Multiple Topics
  • January 7, 2020

Health Law Lab Offers Government Guiding Principles for Regulatory Reform

Explicit protections under federal health care fraud and abuse laws for arrangements that support social determinants of health have the potential to profoundly impact Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries and others, and to help health care providers succeed in achieving value-based care. This is why we were so excited last October, when we wrote about proposed […]

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  • Multiple Topics
  • October 25, 2019

Fraud Laws Targeted as Major Barrier to SDOH Interventions and Health System Transformation

Health care is a highly regulated industry with complex sets of rules put in place to safeguard, among other things, patients and federal health care program dollars. These legal frameworks, while important, were not designed with the current health care system transformation in mind and many stifle its implementation. Advocates working on the integration of […]

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  • Multiple Topics
  • October 17, 2019

Welcome to The Health Law Lab!

Over the years, the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School’s work with community based organizations, health care providers, payers, and government officials has highlighted that health relies on more than a visit to the doctor’s office. Emerging models of community-clinical partnerships address the ways that our homes, food, environment, and […]

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