TennCare and Findhelp Roll Out Digital Infrastructure to Enhance Healthcare Delivery Across Tennessee
In a groundbreaking initiative, the state of Tennessee has partnered with Findhelp to roll out a comprehensive digital infrastructure aimed at streamlining care delivery across its Medicaid system. The newly launched Tennessee Community Compass connects various stakeholders—including health plans, healthcare providers, and community organizations—into a unified platform designed to improve efficiency and health outcomes for more than 1.4 million TennCare Medicaid members. This digital transformation comes as part of TennCare's Health Starts Initiative, which seeks to address operational inefficiencies while also considering the social determinants affecting health.
The challenges commonly faced by public health systems like Medicaid often stem from fragmented service delivery and outdated processes. Care managers are tasked with coordinating care across medical and social sectors, and inefficiencies can pose serious risks for the individuals relying on these services. The introduction of the Tennessee Community Compass seeks to resolve these issues by consolidating various functions into a single statewide platform. This innovative approach facilitates the identification of health-related social needs, the referral and authorization of services, secure data sharing, tracking of outcomes, and payment of community organizations for their services.
By building a standardized framework to integrate social care with existing workflows, the platform allows care teams to deliver comprehensive support while amplifying productivity. Erine Gray, the Founder and CEO of Findhelp, emphasized that the partnership isn't solely focused on social care; it represents a more efficient approach to governance. He stated, "TennCare recognized that in order to meet the needs of residents, especially those facing complex challenges, they needed a system that helps people do their jobs more efficiently. With Findhelp, they've built digital infrastructure that enhances productivity and eliminates unnecessary friction. This project shows that technology companies can work cost-effectively with government partners so that more money goes to people in need."
Early results from this initiative are promising. In just the first three months, the program has successfully completed over 13,000 screenings for social needs on behalf of more than 10,000 members and has made over 4,000 referrals for assistance. As stated by Martha Dixon, the Community Services Manager at the Upper East Tennessee Human Development Agency, "Community Compass is one of the best things our organization has done. We can help people with things like rental assistance with the money the incentive program has provided."
To facilitate effective communication and service provision, Findhelp created three coalitions for each health plan involved in this partnership. These coalitions help integrate networks of providers and services into the Community Compass system, ensuring that TennCare's health plans can seamlessly coordinate care. The system effectively connects to existing health plan case management systems and electronic health records, which allows for automatic service matching based on member eligibility, thus minimizing administrative burdens.
Jacy Warrell, CEO of the Rural Health Association of Tennessee, highlighted the importance of this initiative for rural communities, stating, "TennCare and Findhelp have built something that’s both high-tech and high-trust. This kind of collaboration, especially in rural communities, is how we build systems that work better for people and more efficiently for the government, not just on paper but in real life."
The collaborative, scalable approach taken in Tennessee may serve as a model for other states looking to modernize their service delivery mechanisms. As more state agencies aim to close service gaps without expanding bureaucratic frameworks, this partnership illustrates how internal processes can be simplified and enhanced, allowing care teams to devote more time to direct member support rather than administrative tasks.
Findhelp currently collaborates with over 650 health plans, hospitals, nonprofits, and government entities nationwide. In Tennessee alone, key partnerships include major institutions such as Regional One Health, Baptist Memorial Hospital, HCA Healthcare, and all three TennCare health plans, further solidifying the groundwork for improved care delivery throughout the state.
Findhelp was established in 2010 with a mission to actively connect people in need to essential services while prioritizing dignity and ease. The organization’s platform not only enables efficient management of care coordination but also focuses on tracking outcomes and insights that inform better service provision.
Meanwhile, TennCare is responsible for providing managed care Medicaid services, covering roughly 1.4 million Tennesseans, thereby playing a crucial role in supporting low-income groups including pregnant women, children, and individuals with disabilities. With an annual budget of about $18.6 billion, they aim to deliver quality care that meets the diverse needs of their members. Looking ahead, the ongoing partnership between TennCare and Findhelp promises to transform the landscape of public health services, ensuring that care is more connected, efficient, and responsive to the needs of the community.
The challenges commonly faced by public health systems like Medicaid often stem from fragmented service delivery and outdated processes. Care managers are tasked with coordinating care across medical and social sectors, and inefficiencies can pose serious risks for the individuals relying on these services. The introduction of the Tennessee Community Compass seeks to resolve these issues by consolidating various functions into a single statewide platform. This innovative approach facilitates the identification of health-related social needs, the referral and authorization of services, secure data sharing, tracking of outcomes, and payment of community organizations for their services.
By building a standardized framework to integrate social care with existing workflows, the platform allows care teams to deliver comprehensive support while amplifying productivity. Erine Gray, the Founder and CEO of Findhelp, emphasized that the partnership isn't solely focused on social care; it represents a more efficient approach to governance. He stated, "TennCare recognized that in order to meet the needs of residents, especially those facing complex challenges, they needed a system that helps people do their jobs more efficiently. With Findhelp, they've built digital infrastructure that enhances productivity and eliminates unnecessary friction. This project shows that technology companies can work cost-effectively with government partners so that more money goes to people in need."
Early results from this initiative are promising. In just the first three months, the program has successfully completed over 13,000 screenings for social needs on behalf of more than 10,000 members and has made over 4,000 referrals for assistance. As stated by Martha Dixon, the Community Services Manager at the Upper East Tennessee Human Development Agency, "Community Compass is one of the best things our organization has done. We can help people with things like rental assistance with the money the incentive program has provided."
To facilitate effective communication and service provision, Findhelp created three coalitions for each health plan involved in this partnership. These coalitions help integrate networks of providers and services into the Community Compass system, ensuring that TennCare's health plans can seamlessly coordinate care. The system effectively connects to existing health plan case management systems and electronic health records, which allows for automatic service matching based on member eligibility, thus minimizing administrative burdens.
Jacy Warrell, CEO of the Rural Health Association of Tennessee, highlighted the importance of this initiative for rural communities, stating, "TennCare and Findhelp have built something that’s both high-tech and high-trust. This kind of collaboration, especially in rural communities, is how we build systems that work better for people and more efficiently for the government, not just on paper but in real life."
The collaborative, scalable approach taken in Tennessee may serve as a model for other states looking to modernize their service delivery mechanisms. As more state agencies aim to close service gaps without expanding bureaucratic frameworks, this partnership illustrates how internal processes can be simplified and enhanced, allowing care teams to devote more time to direct member support rather than administrative tasks.
Findhelp currently collaborates with over 650 health plans, hospitals, nonprofits, and government entities nationwide. In Tennessee alone, key partnerships include major institutions such as Regional One Health, Baptist Memorial Hospital, HCA Healthcare, and all three TennCare health plans, further solidifying the groundwork for improved care delivery throughout the state.
Findhelp was established in 2010 with a mission to actively connect people in need to essential services while prioritizing dignity and ease. The organization’s platform not only enables efficient management of care coordination but also focuses on tracking outcomes and insights that inform better service provision.
Meanwhile, TennCare is responsible for providing managed care Medicaid services, covering roughly 1.4 million Tennesseans, thereby playing a crucial role in supporting low-income groups including pregnant women, children, and individuals with disabilities. With an annual budget of about $18.6 billion, they aim to deliver quality care that meets the diverse needs of their members. Looking ahead, the ongoing partnership between TennCare and Findhelp promises to transform the landscape of public health services, ensuring that care is more connected, efficient, and responsive to the needs of the community.
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