BeneLynk Continues Ongoing SDOH Advocacy in Response to RFI from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

MILFORD, CONNECTICUT, UNITED STATES, September 2, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- BeneLynk, a national provider of social determinants of health (SDoH) solutions to Medicare Advantage (MA) and Managed Medicaid plans, was recently given the opportunity to provide feedback to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The topic was how CMS could support innovation in achieving health equity and addressing SDoH barriers. This feedback was a response to CMS’s Request for Information (RFI) on Medicare. This year’s Request for Information on Medicare solicited input on a range of related subjects, including health equity, healthcare access expansion, person-centered care, affordability, sustainability, and partner engagement.

As industry experts with decades of experience at the intersection of Managed Care and government benefit programs, BeneLynk appreciates the opportunity to offer our guidance on this important subject matter. We are fortunate to work with millions of Medicare Advantage members across the country, giving us a direct perspective on the challenges and opportunities relevant to these populations. The topics covered in BeneLynk’s response from its President, Sean Libby, and Mark Fabiano, a member of the BeneLynk Board of Directors and long-time expert in this area, include:

1. Creating a CMS-guided systematic method to capture meaningful, member-level information about health equity and social determinants of health. This requires codification of categories and a systematic and member-centric approach to member engagement. To enable a conversation around these topics, the questioner must be empowered to address member challenges first and present solutions to mitigate or eliminate the SDoH barrier.

2. Treating the capture and documentation of SDoH barriers as an impactful activity specifically delegated to Medicare Advantage plans. This entails regular documentation of evolving SDoH barriers and, crucially, treatment of SDoH interventions as a vital element of patient care (and not as an administrative expense) to enable a more informed whole person care strategy.

3. Strengthening the coordination between Medicare Advantage and Medicaid for dually enrolled members – who face some of the most significant SDoH barriers of all Medicare recipients. Medicare Advantage plans need to be given the same enrollment information about their dually enrolled members as Medicaid plans.

Since BeneLynk’s launch, it has been our goal to improve the issues of health inequity and tear down SDoH barriers for underprivileged populations. We pride ourselves on being leaders in health innovation and were pleased to offer this guidance on how CMS can promote meaningful steps to address health inequity and persistent SDoH barriers. You can view BeneLynk’s complete response to CMS’s RFI, and drop us a note at Sales@Benelynk.com to further discuss how we can partner to best assist members in need.

About BeneLynk
BeneLynk is a national SDoH vendor for managed care companies. BeneLynk engages members to understand SDoH challenges and to provide professional advocacy to access benefits. BeneLynk helps to remove the barriers to allow members to live their healthiest lives.

Keslie Crichton
BeneLynk
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