Housing Matters to Health: How Elevance Health-Affiliated Medicaid Plans Help Members with Housing Concerns

A Whole Health Story

March 19, 2025

While it’s widely understood that eating nutritious food and exercising regularly influences health, the tie between housing and health isn’t always as obvious. Numerous studies have shown that people who experience homelessness are much more likely to visit the emergency room and have higher rates of chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, depression, and substance use disorders. A recent analysis of Elevance Health-affiliated Medicaid plan members with more than 50 emergency room visits per year found that 43% of the members served were experiencing homelessness.*

Housing Support Available Through Medicaid Plans

Many of Elevance Health’s-affiliated health plans include housing programs in their Medicaid coverage, addressing a crucial social driver of health needed to improve members’ whole health.

The affiliated health plans employ housing liaisons and coordinators who work directly with members to identify needed resources and develop plans to help people move into or maintain housing. The housing teams develop relationships with local housing services providers, advocacy groups and community-based organizations. Together they assist members in securing accessible, affordable housing.

Programs Cover Security Deposits, Overdue Utility Bills and More

While helping to keep people housed makes a difference in their health, there are many other aspects of housing that may need attention. Working with community-based organizations, housing teams at Elevance Health-affiliated plans use a variety of approaches to prevent homelessness, housing instability and displacement.

In all Elevance Health-affiliated Medicaid plans, the flex fund helps prevent homelessness by arranging to pay utility and rental arrears, deposits, and essential furniture.

“Sometimes the biggest barrier to getting into a home is that first and last month’s security deposit or an overdue water bill,” said Sue Laliberte, housing strategy director for Elevance Health.

The housing stabilization program also aids members in all Elevance Health-affiliated Medicaid plans by helping to find housing that can accommodate the entire household’s needs.

“A member may need to live closer to a bus line or a child’s school, so we will help them find suitable housing that meets those needs,” Laliberte said.

The Elevance Health Public Policy Institute (PPI) reviewed the relationship between Medicaid and these housing support services in a study published in April 2024.

Other steps health plans may take, depending on the needs of the member and plan partnerships with community-based organizations, include:

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Housing vouchers

These subsidize housing costs by lowering the rent associated with the property, increasing a member’s ability to stay in their home. The health plan helps people obtain these from their local housing authority.

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Shared housing

Involves bringing two or more people together (if they choose) to live cooperatively in a single housing unit to share costs and responsibilities, expanding housing options for members with lower-incomes, especially in high-cost markets. Examples include apartments, single-family homes, collaborative housing, and homeowners leasing rooms to tenants in exchange for rent or services provided in or around the home.

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Eviction prevention

Providing emergency, short-term funds to assist members with low- and moderate-incomes who are at risk for imminent eviction by connecting them to a legal aid partner or paying unpaid rent or utilities.

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Weatherization/home modifications

Providing resources to seal drafts and air leaks, caulk, add insultation, test or repair heating and water systems, and to upgrade lighting, refrigeration, and fans to lower utility bills. This also includes helping people make a home more accessible, such as building a ramp or installing grab bars in the bathroom.

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Problem-solving

Through learning from and conversations with members, understand their personal housing needs, preferences, and priorities and match those needs with the natural networks and mainstream housing resources available in their community.

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Landlord engagement

Working closely with and building a network of responsible, reliable landlords who meet good-practice standards, providing a foundation for housing availability and participation with the various housing initiatives.

“Because housing considerations differ from community to community, we find that certain programs work better in some areas versus others,” Laliberte said. “We first consider what the member and the community need to determine what’s most crucial.”

How Programs Work Together: Three Examples

The health plans’ housing teams work closely with the community-based organizations in their communities to support Medicaid members. Their teamwork can make long-lasting changes, as illustrated in the following examples based on some members’ experiences:

Preventing Eviction by Helping Pay Rent and Utility Bills

Lionel often needed to leave his hourly job at a moment’s notice to take care of his elderly parents who live with him. All three use the emergency room frequently. The reduction in his weekly hours and lowered paycheck means he can’t pay all his bills.

When he called his health plan about an emergency room bill, the member services representative connected him with a housing coordinator, who asked Lionel to share details of his housing and financial situation.

From that conversation, Lionel got eviction prevention support, which included funds to help him catch up on utility and rent payments and keep himself and his parents housed. Longer term, the housing coordinator helped Lionel’s parents set up the monthly utility payment allowance offered by their Medicare Advantage plan. The housing coordinator also arranged for weatherization work to make his home more efficient, reducing his utility bill.

The lowered stress level and improved environment within their home led to better health and reduced emergency room visits.

Housing Flex Fund

Avoiding Unstable Housing Situations

Marianna and her young daughters often sought treatment in emergency rooms after experiencing interpersonal violence. When a full-time job offer gave Marianna the opportunity to leave an abusive relationship, she took it. However, she needed stable housing.

Her health plan helped her get in touch with a non-profit organization that provides specialized employment coaching and support to women who are returning to the workforce following the trauma of interpersonal violence. The local housing authority provided her a housing choice voucher to subsidize the cost of rental housing. The health plan housing program manager helped her obtain funds to pay for move-in costs, including first month’s rent and a security deposit.

Using Homeless Assistance to Move from Unhoused to Housed

Jordan visited the emergency room often because of her substance use disorder (SUD). Shortly after completing an inpatient substance use disorder program, she learned she was pregnant. When she contacted her health plan to find an obstetrician, she shared she was unhoused and had no transportation.

The health plan matched her with a case manager who worked with the housing team. Together, they helped Jordan secure a lease on an apartment through a federal program. The case manager also connected Jordan to a local community clothing resource she could use throughout her pregnancy, along with some newborn baby clothes. Another community-based organization provided her with furniture and baby items.

Jordan enrolled in her health plan’s fresh produce box benefit, which allowed her to get fresh produce weekly from a local food shelf. She also enrolled in her health plan’s behavioral health care management program for extra support with her continuing SUD recovery.

By addressing a critical social driver of health – stable housing – health plans can help members reduce stress, improve their physical environment, and take better care of themselves.

*Source: 2024 internal Elevance Health data