Docs for Health

Too many of our elderly, adults with pre-existing conditions, and children lose their health insurance each year due to the furtive and complex Medicaid recertification process. In fact, approximately 25 million Medicaid eligible recipients lost their health insurance after an annual Medicaid “unwinding” due to issues with bureaucracy and paperwork. These lapses in access to care lead to worse health outcomes and higher medical costs. Using prospective and strategic questions, Docs for Health, a HIPAA-secure SaaS platform, leverages complex eligibility criteria and maximizes enrollment into the federal and state benefits that people need and are eligible for. This includes Medicaid enrollment and annual Medicaid re-certification. Docs for Health empowers and enables healthcare and social service agencies to screen for benefits eligibility, provides automated tools for point of care intervention, and prevents lapses in care and coverage from occurring. Founded and developed by clinicians with frontline experience, Docs for Health has taken on the challenge of interpreting, automating, and updating federal and state benefits enrollment so that you can spend less time drowning in bureaucracy and paperwork, and more time providing patient care. And most importantly, your patients maintain access to the resources that they need to be healthy. Rahul Vanjani David Melançon #DocsForHealth #SocialCare #Healthcare #HealthTech #SaaS

Sharing our recent publication on THInc - Talking about history of incarceration. Thank you to Ankita Patil and all the authors for your work on this paper exploring clinician preparedness to communicate with and care for formerly incarcerated patients - and for your efforts in this field! Monik Botero, Rahul Vanjani, Annie Lewis O'Connor, Harika D., GeorgePatrick J. Hutchins.

Spot on... except for the skin color and short hair ;-).

A Setback for CHWs in Rhode Island: Seeking Models for Diversified Billing Community Health Workers (CHWs) are vital to bridging health and social care, yet recent changes in Rhode Island are making it harder for them to sustain this work. Rhode Island's Medicaid Office has now prohibited billing for both home stabilization and CHW services within the same month—a policy shift that puts financial strain on CHWs, as well as the patients who rely on them. For context, CHWs in Rhode Island traditionally bill using the H1016 code for direct services, reimbursed in 15-minute increments at around $13 per interval. This translates to $52 per hour, or approximately $45,760 annually if a CHW works 20 hours per week for 44 weeks, yielding a modest hourly rate of $22. But, due to the unpredictable nature of CHW work, it’s challenging to bill consistently, which makes financial viability difficult. Home stabilization previously provided a solution for CHWs assisting patients facing homelessness or housing instability. This code allows CHWs to bill $313 for one 60-minute monthly visit—meaning a CHW with 20 clients for home stabilization could generate $75,120 per year. Combined with traditional CHW billing, these two codes provided a more sustainable income for CHWs addressing diverse needs: housing, medical appointments, food access, health education, and more. Now, with the new restriction, CHWs can no longer bill both codes in the same month, reducing their ability to provide comprehensive services and putting their roles at risk. Are there other models that allow diversified billing for CHWs? In many ways, CHWs serve as a lifeline for clients, connecting them with everything from housing to health education—similar to how physicians bill across codes for a range of services. If other states support diversified billing for CHWs, these models could provide a framework for advocating change in Rhode Island to better sustain CHW services and the patients who rely on them. If you know of successful approaches, please share—these examples could make a real difference in advocating for policy shifts. #CommunityHealthWorkers #HealthEquity #HealthRelatedSocialNeeds

I'm excited to share work published this past month that marks the culmination of months—and even years—of focused efforts at the intersection of healthcare and social care. Through community partnerships, addressing social determinants, and rethinking policies, these works strive to build a model of care that goes beyond treating symptoms. It’s about creating pathways to health that honor the full spectrum of needs. https://lnkd.in/gARyd2_5 https://lnkd.in/gsTp4uwF https://lnkd.in/gUB7n7uT

On my way back to Rhode Island after a lovely few days at HLTH Inc. The highlight was seeing longtime friends and colleagues, like Jennifer May Lee, David Melançon, Vanessa Rissetto, MS, RD, CDN, Ali Khan, MD, MPP, and Morgan Cheatham. Thank you all for spending time with me! And thank you to all of the new colleagues and friends I met in Vegas these past few days.

Docs for Health has been selected to pitch at the Newport Investor Summit this September. We're so excited to meet fellow founders, like-minded individuals, potential mentors, and investors.

Something we've been thinking a lot about recently at Docs for Health is this: How can we better empower healthcare professionals to return to their true calling—caring for people? In a world where administrative tasks often overshadow the core work of compassionate care, we believe technology should enhance human connection, not replace it. Our goal is to provide healthcare and social service professionals with the tools to focus on what truly matters—addressing the full spectrum of social and medical needs, creating more effective and fulfilling care experiences. What if technology could alleviate the burden of paperwork, seamlessly integrating real-time social and medical needs into a single, intelligent platform that evolves with every use? One that doesn’t just flag a problem but helps ensure that no need is overlooked? At Docs for Health, we’re working towards a future where technology enables professionals to focus on the whole person, helping them provide holistic care that is not only efficient but deeply meaningful. #HealthEquity #HealthcareInnovation #SDoH #TechForGood #HolisticCare