The New York 1115 Health Equity Reform Waiver rolls out this year, but many organizations are struggling to scale their programs enough to truly take advantage of the program. It has become a huge undertaking, with many interacting systems all needed to be put into place with consideration to HIPPA.

Blooming Health is a tested and optimized solution for social care networks (SCNs) to engage millions of Medicaid members, support the screening process, and connect members with essential services like nutrition, housing, and transportation. We are working with many New York-based social care organizations to help them make the most of the 1115 Waiver.

By advancing health equity across the state, Blooming Health enhances the capacity of SCNs, Community Care Hubs (CCH), government agencies and community-based organizations (CBOs) to deliver impactful results.

Let’s examine the goals of the NY 1115 Medicaid Waiver, and learn more about how Blooming Health helps SCNs/CCH reach their community members. 

What are some goals of the New York 1115 Medicaid Waiver?

1. Provide consistent screening and navigation for Medicaid members, ensuring they are appropriately screened for health-related social needs (HRSN) and navigated to needed services.

2. Scaling, capacity building by providing financial and operational support supporting CBOs in delivering HRSN services.

3. Bettering Medicaid member experience, by streamlining the process for Medicaid members to be screened, assessed, and connected to social care services throughout the state.

4. Promoting equity, ensuring Medicaid members regardless of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or geography can be connected to needed services through accessible and culturally competent pathways.

How Blooming Health Helps Achieve These Goals with Automation and Interoperability

Blooming Health supports social care networks and community care hubs by automating member engagement at scale. While guided screenings are conducted by Navigators through tools like Unite Us (UU) or FindHelp (FH), Blooming Health ensures members are notified and connected with these resources through accessible, member-facing communication.

Messages can be sent in 80+ languages, through phone, text, or email- whichever the individual member prefers. 

Medicaid members can self-screen for social needs—such as food insecurity, housing, and transportation—using tools provided by UU or FH and accessing these tools through Blooming Health. Additionally, social care navigators at CBOs or SCNs guide screenings and follow-ups, with Blooming Health providing automated notifications and reminders to keep members informed.

SCNs and CCHs can seamlessly integrate the Blooming Health platform into their existing IT infrastructure for efficient operations, such as syncing with their EMR databases. Currently, Blooming Health serves 40 counties and over 114,000 Medicaid members across New York State.

Additionally, Blooming Health can provide Medicaid member satisfaction surveys, referrals, and informational phone lines. The possibilities are endless!

The impact of all this?

Blooming Health enhances the operational efficiency of CBOs and SCNs, helping them manage large-scale operations while saving time and resources. The platform frees up an average of 2 hours per day for staff and improves service utilization by 2.2%, allowing organizations to do more with less.

A Medicaid Member’s Path to Care Through the 1115 Waiver

Here’s a use case showing what your community member’s journey with the 1115 can look like, when you partner with Blooming Health.

1. Informed Engagement
   A member of your community receives personalized, white-labeled communication from you-the SCN/CCH, educating them about the 1115 Waiver and introducing them to their local SCN. Messaging is delivered in the member's preferred language and channel through Blooming Health’s platform.

2. Connection to Support
   The approved Medicaid member is connected with navigators who conduct guided screenings using trusted tools to assess needs such as food insecurity, housing, and transportation. Blooming Health plays a key role in notifying and engaging the individual, and continuing to deliver education resources. 

3. Scale Impactful Outcomes
   With automated workflows scaling the 1115 rollout and screening process has never been easier. Your organization is able to instantly expand operational capability and reach more individuals driving our communities towards a more equitable New York. Your team can spend less time worrying about communications, and more time working 1-1 with individuals to provide hands-on outreach. 

When we step back and look at the bigger picture, the New York 1115 Waiver isn’t just about scaling operations or navigating complex systems—it’s about people.

It’s about the mother in Brooklyn who didn’t know she could access free nutrition support.

It’s about the grandfather in the Adirondacks who can now get transportation to his medical appointments.

It’s about the thousands of lives quietly transformed when a system finally works for them instead of around them.

And that’s why we’re here. Blooming Health is more than a platform—it’s a promise to help communities thrive. If you are an organization leveraging the 1115 Medicaid Waiver, talk to us today.