National Fund for Medical Education

Advancing Community Health Worker Practice and Utilization: The Focus on Financing (2006)

Funding CHW Programs and Services in Minnesota: Looking to the Future (2006)

Funded by a grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation, the National Fund for Medical Education, in collaboration with the UCSF Center for the Health Professions, has researched sustainable financing mechanisms for community health workers.

There is a growing interest in the use of community health workers in various roles in the US health care system. These workers go by various titles and names - including promotores and community health advisors - but all play an essential paraprofessional role in assisting members of the communities they serve. Their activities at different times involve education, problem-solving, direct assistance, advocacy and organization.
As the role of these workers becomes more accepted and desirable in the overall system of care, they face the challenges of moving from being an exceptional add-on to the system to being more a part of the main stream. Issues such as educational preparation, formal credentialing, licensure and compensation are all part of this process. In particular, various organizations are interested in but challenged by the need for sustainable financing of the CHW position. Viable finance arrangements that go beyond short-term grant funds must be explored and developed.

To address this issue, the National Fund for Medical Education and staff at the UCSF Center for the Health Professions studied existing and emerging funding, reimbursement and payment policies for community health workers. Research findings include several sustainable financing models and practices in place.

The main report, Advancing Community Health Worker Practice and Utilization: The Focus on Financing is national in scope. Funding CHW Programs and Services in Minnesota: Looking to the Future supplements the main report by highlighting CHW financing issues in Minnesota.

To access the reports, click on the links above or see the Center for the Health Professions’ publications page at http://futurehealth.ucsf.edu/publications/index.html.

For more information, contact Catherine Dower
cdower@thecenter.ucsf.edu
(415) 476-1894