Recognizing and Sustaining the Value of Community Health Workers and Promotores

Community health workers and promotores (CHW/Ps) can play a key role in the health care system by supporting health care organizations’ efforts to care for a broad range of patients. This brief, made possible by the California Health Care Foundation, explores how this workforce is currently contributing to the health care system both in California and around the country. It highlights examples of the value that CHW/Ps provide and how their work is financed, as well as emerging opportunities to scale and sustain that work within California. This topic has particular relevance to the Medi-Cal Healthier California for All initiative, formerly known as California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM), a multi-year delivery system and payment reform initiative designed to improve the quality of life and health outcomes of the state’s Medicaid population. A future brief will examine the California context in greater depth, including existing and emerging policy options to support CHW/Ps. Although both briefs view this issue through a California lens, the insights are applicable to any state seeking to strengthen its health care workforce.