Lessons for Ohio from other states

This report (and a two-page summary) highlights findings from three states that have covered housing and nutrition services through Medicaid. Although these states (Michigan, Kansas and North Carolina) have used different methods, some consistent lessons learned have emerged:

• Gather and respond to feedback from the wide array of groups involved with providing reimbursable nutrition and housing services during both policy development and rollout.
• Balance standardization and flexibility when shaping requirements to administer and deliver reimbursable housing and nutrition supports, particularly with community-based organization (CBO) contracting, data exchange across groups and service eligibility.
• Develop a deliberate and connected infrastructure that can help bridge and coordinate the multi-sector groups involved with delivering reimbursable housing and nutrition supports to enrollees.
• Emphasize and embed evaluation from start to finish to understand how addressing social needs through Medicaid impacts health outcomes and costs, thereby demonstrating value and encouraging service utilization.

Multisector partners from across Ohio informed this report, including Medicaid MCOs and CBOs that provide housing, nutrition and care coordination services.

More information on the flexibility states have to support housing and nutrition services through Medicaid and approaches that have been prioritized for Ohio is available in the following:

• Leveraging Medicaid to support housing and nutrition in Ohio (September 2024). Describes the opportunities that were available for covering clinically appropriate, evidence-based housing and nutrition services through the Medicaid program. While some of these opportunities remain available, others were created under federal guidance during the Biden Administration, which has since been rescinded.
• State policy roadmap: Leveraging Medicaid to support housing and nutrition in Ohio (March 2025). Recommendations from a workgroup of CBOs and health system professionals on actionable next steps for policymakers and other state leaders to leverage these opportunities effectively.