More Homeless Californians to Find Housing and Social Services Thanks to $46 Million in Grants from Health Net

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Health Net will provide critical funds to organizations across the state to help find housing for people experiencing homelessness and offer supportive services to California's most vulnerable residents.

SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Health Net announced that the company will award more than $46 million dollars in grants to support California's unhoused Medi-Cal members through housing and other supportive services. Invested across 26 counties, these funds will support local Continuum of Care (CoC) programs and other housing services agencies. A CoC is a regional or local planning body that coordinates housing and other services for families and individuals experiencing homelessness.

"At Health Net, we're committed to supporting the state's Medi-Cal members experiencing homelessness, providing them access to housing and other resources they need to improve their health," said President and CEO at Health Net, Brian Ternan. "Too many Californians are living on the streets without shelter from the elements and recent natural disasters. We're proud to partner with Continuum of Care programs to help provide services to those who need it most, and ultimately work towards ending homelessness in California."

The grant funds will:

• Increase partnerships and local capacity of organizations to support referrals for services.  Examples include increased housing navigation services, funding to CoCs and county agencies for permanent supportive housing initiatives, support for the Point in Time Counts and Medi-Cal redetermination efforts.
• Improve the infrastructure used to coordinate and meet the needs for members seeking housing. Examples include funding to enhance data exchange between the health plan and CoCs, integrating/upgrading Homeless Management Information System platforms and supporting workforce development initiatives.
• Enhance the delivery of services and member engagement for those at-risk of or experiencing homelessness. Examples include master leasing to house individuals and keep people housed, funding for street outreach, street medicine capacity building and unit acquisition.

Health Net has awarded grants to CoCs and housing services agencies in the following California counties: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Diego, San Joaquin, Sierra, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Tulare, Tuolumne and Yuba. These grants are made possible through California's Housing and Homelessness Incentive Program.

This work continues to build on Health Net's efforts to provide wraparound care for the communities they serve. In fact, earlier this year, Health Net announced a $1.5 million grant to Keck School of Medicine of USC's Street Medicine program (USC Street Medicine). The funds will establish two programs that prepare street medicine workforces to bring care directly to unsheltered populations in the places where they live.

Through this approach, Health Net is caring for members with complex medical issues by meeting them where they are and considering the full scope of their needs. Health Net's work with USC Street Medicine expands on innovative programs that address physical, behavioral, social and long-term health needs.

Although these initiatives serve as critical steps in the right direction, Health Net will continue to invest in innovative solutions that increase health equity for Californian's unhoused populations. Their various partnerships help address the many negative social drivers of health their members face to help ensure people can get the care they need, when, how and where they need it.

To learn more about Health Net, visit HealthNet.com.

About Health Net  

Founded in California more than 40 years ago, Health Net believes that every person deserves a safety net for their health, regardless of age, income, employment status or current state of health. Today, we provide health plans for individuals, families, businesses of every size and people who qualify for Medi-Cal or Medicare. Together with our 90,000 network providers, Health Net serves three million members across the state. We also offer access to substance abuse programs, behavioral health services, employee assistance programs and managed health care products related to prescription drugs. We make these health plans and services available through Health Net, LLC and its subsidiaries: Health Net of California, Inc., Health Net Life Insurance Company and Health Net Community Solutions, Inc. These entities are wholly owned subsidiaries of Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC), a Fortune 26 company that offers affordable and high-quality products to nearly 1 in 15 individuals across the nation. Health Net and Centene employ more than 6,300 people in California who work at one of five regional Talent Hub offices. For more information, visit www.HealthNet.com.

SOURCE Health Net