Program that helps homeless gets housing to expand

A local program that aims to connect homeless individuals with housing in order to improve their health and cut health care costs will expand.

The partnership between Community Human Services and Medicaid plan UPMC for You can currently serve about 25 people at a time, but officials from the state, Community Human Services and UPMC said Monday they aim to expand that to several hundred people in the coming years, some outside Allegheny County.

“We have seen ample evidence that this is a good program and ample evidence that it is cost-effective, and we think scaling it is a great opportunity, and that’s what we will begin to do,” said Diane Holder, president and CEO of UPMC Health Plan.

The health plan pays nonprofit Community Human Services for case managers to connect homeless people to long-term housing. Medicaid dollars, which are a mix of state and federal funds, cannot be used to pay for housing.

Community Human Services works with landlords to place individuals in long-term housing and support them, said Jeremy Carter, chief housing officer at the nonprofit.

The program identifies those with at least one year of high health care costs who are able to live independently, follow a health plan developed by UPMC Health Plan, and meet a federal Department of Housing and Urban Development definition of homelessness.

After connecting to longterm housing, participants saw a decrease in unplanned medical costs and an increase in regular doctor visits, according to the state Department of Human Services.

The announcement Monday came as part of a statewide tour by Pennsylvania Secretary of Human Services Teresa Miller that aims to highlight innovation by Medicaid managed care organizations.

Ms. Miller said addressing social determinants of health — such as housing and nutrition — is critical to both the individuals’ health and the costs of their care. Medicaid is a major cost-driver in the state’s budget.

“If we don’t address these social determinants, we’re not going to be able to address the costs,” she said.

Kate Giammarise: kgiammarise@post-gazette. or 412-263-3909.