By OPEN MINDS Circle

On January 7, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published this Medicaid letter (SHO#21-001) to state health officials regarding opportunities in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) to address social determinants of health (SDOH). The purpose of this State Health Official (SHO) letter is to describe opportunities under Medicaid and CHIP to better address SDOH and to support states with designing programs, benefits, and services that can more effectively improve population health, reduce disability, and lower overall health care costs in the Medicaid and CHIP programs by addressing SDOH.