Abstract

As federal funding reductions loom over healthcare and social support programs, industry leaders are creating innovative solutions to protect vulnerable populations. Siftwell convened healthcare executives in February 2025 to tackle this challenge, revealing practical strategies for maintaining essential services. Here’s a recap and the recording of the session.

Author: Siftwell Team

“When money was more abundant, we didn’t have to talk to each other… Now we’re seeing as this kind of wave crashes economically, people really coming to the table to say, ‘What do we need to do different?’ Everyone coming at a different pace into the same table now is us working together at a local level to figure out from a system perspective what’s best for our members, because we’re all serving the same population with much more limited resources.” — Jeremiah Rigsby, Chief of Staff at Care Oregon

Our expert panel brought together Trey Sutten (Co-founder of Siftwell, former CFO of Medicaid North Carolina), Dr. Brooke Parish (Executive Medical Director for HCSC), Dr. Lori Tischler (Chief Medical Officer at Community Health Options), and Jeremiah Rigsby (Chief of Staff at Care Oregon) for a candid discussion on navigating healthcare funding challenges. Rather than merely lamenting budget cuts, these leaders shared real-world approaches for maintaining member services when resources shrink. The conversation revealed how plans can leverage community partnerships, data-driven decisions, and strategic investments to preserve care quality despite financial constraints. We’ve distilled their key insights below, but encourage you to watch the full recording for deeper understanding.

Immediate Action Items for Health Plans

  1. Map Your Community Ecosystem – Identify and catalog all community resources and partners currently serving your member population
  2. Conduct Member Needs Assessment – Implement structured evaluation of member social needs through direct outreach and predictive modeling
  3. Strengthen CBO Partnerships – Initiate or renew formal agreements with community-based organizations, especially those providing housing, food, and transportation support
  4. Develop Multi-Source Funding Strategy – Create a plan for braiding funding from various sources to maintain critical social support programs
  5. Establish Value Metrics – Define how you’ll measure program effectiveness beyond financial ROI to strengthen your case for continued investment
  6. Prepare Tailored Advocacy Messages – Develop district-specific impact data and stories for engagement with policymakers
  7. Integrate Care Management Functions – Break down silos between teams that identify and address member social needs
  8. Launch Targeted Behavioral Health Initiatives – Prioritize access to lower-level behavioral health services with demonstrated long-term benefits
  9. Implement Technology That Matches Your Resources – Use prescriptive analytics and risk stratification to precisely match interventions to member needs, moving beyond high-risk member identification to develop tiered intervention protocols for all risk levels—including low and medium-risk members to prevent deterioration across populations

Watch the full recording of the discussion: