Two things push Medicaid to the front of every equity conversation. First, its scale and focus. Second, its bold moves to improve equity through coverage expansions and addressing social drivers of health. Claudia chats with Dr. Aditi Mallick about Medicaid’s three-part agenda to improve equity, implement whole person care and expand coverage. Dr. Mallick — the Chief Medical Officer for Medicaid & CHIP at CMS — shares the deeply personal experience that fuels her push for health equity and access to care for all Americans. 

We discuss: 

• Why addressing social needs is key to achieving Medicaid’s agenda
• Thinking in new ways about maternal and infant health
• Two perennial challenges: workforce and data sharing 
• Where to draw the line on what Medicaid should fund

Aditi reminds us that pure technology plays will never work in this space:

“I think there is a tremendous role for technology here and tech enablement here when done thoughtfully. I think a pure technology business in this space that doesn't have humans or service layered on top of it will not work, frankly, because so much of the implementation success around health related social needs will be predicated on being able to bring together people from a community setting and trusted voices… as opposed to building and throwing something at the community.”

Relevant Links

CMS guidance on covering in Lieu of Services through Medicaid managed care [PDF]

CMS framework for covering health-related social needs through Section 1115 demonstrations [PDF]

CMS “unwinding” website

MACStats: Medicaid and CHIP data book [PDF]

About Our Guest

Dr. Aditi Mallick is a physician, strategic policy advisor, and former management consultant, who is driven to serve and create a more inclusive, innovative, and responsible healthcare system. She is the Chief Medical Officer for Medicaid and the Child Health Insurance Program at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Before joining CMS, she was Director of the COVID-19 Response Command Center at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. A board-certified internist, Dr. Mallick has previously held clinical faculty positions at George Washington University and Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Mallick earned her BA with honors from Harvard College, including a Certificate in Healthcare Policy; her Medical Degree from Stanford University with a concentration in Health Services Research and Policy; and completed Internal Medicine Residency training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

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