Community health workers and promotores (CHW/Ps) have been part of the health care landscape in the United States for decades. Payers and providers increasingly recognize their essential role in supporting patients with complex medical and social needs. With support from the California Health Care Foundation, the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) is examining the critical value that CHW/Ps bring to the health care system and identifying new opportunities for using and financing this workforce in California and across the nation.
Especially in California, there are key opportunities to advance the use of CHW/Ps under CalAIM: California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal, the state’s five-year blueprint for its Medicaid program. Similarly, in other states, CHW/Ps are filling a key gap on care management teams to address the day-to-day needs of patients.
