THE HUMANIZATION OF HEALTHCARE FOR THE POOR

Mario J. Paredes

June 26^th, 2026

Medicaid has been in the spotlight over the past year, facing charges of mismanagement and waste. However, a unique initiative underway in New York State holds the promise of radical reform that will sharply reduce Medicaid spending, while making budget cuts unnecessary—even as the quality of care for the poor dramatically improves.

The initiative is driven by the conviction that traditional medical treatments must also address patients’ social needs, which can cause or exacerbate medical and behavioral conditions. These needs are known as Health-Related Social Needs.

The overarching goal is to integrate Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and their social expertise into the existing primary care and behavioral healthcare system. Research has shown that physical health only accounts for about 20 percent of overall health and well-being. The CBOs and their expertise are necessary in order to complement traditional forms of medicine.

At the heart of social care is the recognition that the poor, just like those who are better off, are complex people with many different needs, social and otherwise. Respect for their dignity demands rigorous discipline in their care so that they are no longer faceless people moving mechanically through the system. Social Care ensures that patients become better known to key people in the community: doctors, Community Health Workers, fellow patients, and volunteers.

Thus, the humanization of health care goes hand in hand with preventive care, with patients taking ownership of both their social and traditional health care. Feeling known and cared for does wonders for morale. No longer will Medicaid patients in New York State be passive, almost anonymous consumers of health care. Instead, they will be emancipated and take a seat at the table when their doctor and CBO discuss their case. Healthy individuals avoid the ER and costly hospital beds—a boon for taxpayers. Communication and collaboration are the calls to action.

Nine regional and Social Care Networks (SCNs) have been funded with a $500M budget, drawn from a total of $66B earmarked to improve overall care for the most vulnerable Medicaid recipients in New York State. These networks will help doctors and other stakeholders identify and subsequently engage community-based agencies that embrace the mission of the local Church: to deliver care for the most vulnerable members of the community. CBOs that are doing superlative work are recognized by the SCN through extra staff or enhancements to the CBO facility.

CBOs have the social expertise that patients in York State need. Today, the bulk of Health-Related Social Needs being addressed concern nutrition, housing, and transportation. Pending research and the identification of the right social care providers, additional focus areas will come to fruition. Both education and employment promise to become important target areas for outreach

Medicaid members who need assistance with their unmet health-related social needs will be connected to existing resources, including local doctors who rely on CBO staff for information on local CBOs. Now begins the critical process of carefully mapping out the medical and social needs of the local population. Volunteers–who are often former patients–can play an important role by reporting on CBOs from whom they have received services.

It is a collaboration to match patient needs with available resources and is a key part of smart spending. Preparations are already underway for a conference bringing together CBOs from across New York, an event that will upend the state’s health care economy and raise the profile of Social Care.

Tribute goes out to Dr. Ramon Tallaj, the founder and chairman of SOMOS Community Care, a network of 2.500 independent primary care providers. At its founding in 2014, SOMOS joined a New York State Medicaid initiative designed to improve health care for the poorest Medicaid recipients. That mission has remained front and center for SOMOS, with an early take on Social Care.

From the beginning, SOMOS doctors relied on Community Health Workers to visit patient homes and provide intelligence on social needs. SOMOS is proud to see its early beginnings with Social Care mirrored on the big stage of the New York State Medicaid initiative. It is a privilege to operate the Social Care Network for the Bronx territory.

There is hope that federal health care officials will embrace the New York push for Medicaid Social Care and roll it out throughout the US. Early successes have demonstrated the program’s potential to lower costs and showcase the power of government to bring about a radical transformation of health care for the poor.

Mario J. Paredes is CEO of SOMOS Community Care, a social care network of more than 2.500 independent providers responsible for reaching out and delivering care to more than 1 million Medicaid patients across New York City.