MRT Supportive Housing Evaluation: Enrollment in Supportive Housing Results in Significantly Greater Cross-Sector Cost Savings than “Treatment as Usual”

Authors

Center for Human Services Research, University at Albany

Document Type

Research Brief

Publication Date

2022

Abstract

The New York State Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) was created in 2011 to develop a multi-year reform plan to address unprecedented healthcare cost growth and improve healthcare quality. One innovation tested under this Redesign is the investment in supportive housing, or affordable housing paired with supportive services (e.g., on-site case management, referrals to community-based services). High-cost, high-need Medicaid recipients who were homeless, unstably housed, or living in treatment facilities providing a higher level of care than needed were targeted for enrollment. While expensive, this investment was anticipated to improve quality of life and health outcomes for enrolled clients, thus decreasing utilization of especially expensive forms of healthcare, improving housing stability and decreasing need for alternate housing settings, and reducing spending, both as related to healthcare and across other social service sectors. This Research Brief examines changes in clients’ total spending from one year before to one year after program enrollment, including Medicaid claims, program development and operating costs, and cross-sector spending, versus a matched group of similar but not-enrolled individuals.

Recommended Citation

Center for Human Services Research, University at Albany, "MRT Supportive Housing Evaluation: Enrollment in Supportive Housing Results in Significantly Greater Cross-Sector Cost Savings than “Treatment as Usual”" (2022). Health and Healthcare Services Reports and Research Briefs. 20.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/chsr-hhs-reports-and-briefs/20