UPMC Partnership Facilitates Access to Healthcare Services, Coverage

UPMC Health Plan’s Medicaid managed care plan is partnering with a community-based organization to provide access to navigation assistance that can help connect members to healthcare services and coverage.

The partnership between the managed care plan, UPMC for You, and Fabric Health will allow members to access healthcare support services at certain laundromats across Pennsylvania.

Fabric Health staff will be available at the laundromats to help people navigate access to care and apply for coverage assistance programs, like Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The laundromats will also be equipped with Wi-Fi access.

The initiative reflects UPMC for You’s commitment to facilitating access to healthcare services and coverage in a community-based manner. More than 32 million Americans visit a laundromat each week, making it a convenient setting for members to connect with healthcare support.

The partnership will begin at laundromats in Edgewood, Mt. Washington, Shadyside, South Park Township, and West Mifflin.

“UPMC for You wants to make accessing social supports and healthcare coverage for those in need as convenient and easy as possible—even if it means reaching out to one individual at a time,” John Lovelace, president of UPMC for You and president of government programs for UPMC Health Plan, said in the press release.

“We are excited to partner with Fabric Health in this community-based effort to help busy—and often overwhelmed—individuals access the health and other supports they and their loved ones need, perhaps even literally while they are waiting for their clothes to dry.”

The collaboration comes at a time when maintaining and accessing healthcare coverage is crucial. The continuous coverage provision enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiaries is ending on April 1, 2023. This may lead to coverage disenrollments for those no longer eligible or those who do not complete the renewal process.

“This partnership also provides an avenue to assist those who may lose Medicaid coverage with the end of the continuous coverage requirement, as the laundromat-based Fabric Health staff can even help those losing Medicaid find other coverage through CHIP or the Individual Marketplace and apply for other benefits,” Lovelace added.

UPMC for You is working with community partners, healthcare providers, and the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services to inform members about renewals and the importance of completing the process on time.

Members who lose Medicaid eligibility will receive information about how to apply for coverage from Pennie, Pennsylvania’s state-based marketplace.

Since 2020, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services has required Medicaid managed care organizations to work with community-based organizations to further value-based care delivery. UPMC for You’s partnership with Fabric Health is one way the managed care plan has worked with local organizations in line with this requirement.

“The partnership between UPMC for You and Fabric Health is an innovative and effective way to ease barriers to support and help people navigate and get connected to services,” Sally Kozak, deputy secretary of the Office of Medical Assistance Programs at the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, said. “As we prepare for Medicaid renewals, creative partnerships to connect with and assist members will be important to keeping people connected to health care coverage.”

This is not the first time UPMC for You has worked with organizations to help improve health outcomes for members. The health plan previously partnered with a meal delivery service to provide Medicaid beneficiaries with three meals daily for 13 weeks. Following the pilot program, participants saw a 31 percent decrease in emergency department use and a 36 percent decrease in median total healthcare costs.