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Scaling Social Determinant Interventions

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In a rapidly evolving environment where community-based service providers are developing collaborations with the health care system, new health care funding streams are allowing social service nonprofits to expand and serve additional populations in unprecedented ways. The Health Law Lab advocates for policy reforms that better support this growth. The Health Law Lab also educates stakeholders on how a range of legal issues may affect the design and scaling of their innovative health care solutions.

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  • 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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  • Multiple Topics
  • November 16, 2023

NEW RESOURCE: Navigating HIPAA Compliance in Networked Contracting – Key Considerations

Challenges navigating the federal patient data privacy law known as HIPAA are often front-and-center in conversations between health care and community-based organizations (CBOs) interested in partnering to address health-related social needs. Many common questions about HIPAA come up: Under what circumstances can a health care organization share patient information with a CBO? Is the CBO […]

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  • Multiple Topics
  • October 25, 2023

CMS Issues Guidance on Medicaid Transportation Assurance

For many individuals in the Medicaid program, lack of transportation can be a significant barrier to health care access. As a result, Medicaid transportation benefits are a critical component of effective care. On September 28, 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued new, comprehensive guidance on these benefits: Assurance of Transportation: A […]

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  • Multiple Topics
  • April 24, 2023

We asked. You answered. We amplified.

In a new letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), CHLPI and partner organizations lift up the voices of 35 stakeholders across 19 states.

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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
  • December 14, 2022

CMS Tells State Medicaid Programs to Leverage WIC in Food Programming

Several 1115 waivers approved over the past few months further drive the integration of food is medicine into Medicaid. There are many notable developments to reflect on—approval to calculate, under certain circumstances, food supports at the household level in Massachusetts and the seemingly widespread dedication of funding to support critical infrastructure development among others. In […]

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  • Multiple Topics
  • August 29, 2022

Listen to the Experts: Community Health Workers Weigh in on Policy

Earlier this summer, CHLPI and the Illinois Community Health Worker Association (ILCHWA) released their report, Illinois Community Health Worker Roundtables:  Recommendations for the Community Health Worker Certification and Reimbursement Act. The report was a product of robust community engagement over the past year—a series of five roundtables brought together community health workers (CHWs) and representatives […]

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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
  • February 11, 2022

Beneficiary Inducements 101 for Community-Based Organizations

A growing number of health care systems are partnering with food banks, food pantries, and other community-based organizations, acknowledging the major role that food plays in impacting health outcomes. Yet, laws designed to protect patients in traditional medical settings have emerged as barriers to these innovative community-clinical partnerships.  A new resource by the Center for […]

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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 27, 2021

Text Messages to Support Enrollment in Government Benefits: Simple. Effective. Legal?

By Daniel Necz, Harvard Law School LL.M Candidate, and Rachel Landauer, Clinical Instructor New research from North Carolina adds to the evidence that participation in nutrition assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has a positive impact on health outcomes. However, the researchers also found that many study participants who were eligible […]

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  • Multiple Topics
  • October 28, 2020

Prioritizing People: Health Care Fraud & Abuse Law Flexibility During COVID-19

As communities across the country continue to grapple with the consequences of COVID-19, the health care system is called upon to address social determinants of health (SDOH). Some health system entities have concerns about supporting their patients in new ways while continuing to ensure compliance with health care fraud and abuse laws. This blog post […]

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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
  • 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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