The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has awarded the Lewin Group and its partners, which includes the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), a seven-year contract to support implementation and monitoring for CMS’ Integrated Care for Kids (InCK) Model.

Launched in January 2020, this model is part of CMS’s strategy to fight the opioid crisis and address its impact on vulnerable Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)-covered children and their caregivers. The InCK Model aims to improve child health, reduce avoidable inpatient stays and out-of-home placement, and create sustainable payment models to coordinate physical and behavioral health care with services to address health-related needs. InCK funding will provide Connecticut, Illinois (2 awards), New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Oregon with the flexibility to design interventions for their local communities that align health care delivery with child welfare support, educational systems, housing and nutrition services, mobile crisis response services, maternal and child health systems, and other relevant service systems. By bringing together medical, behavioral, and community-based services, InCK strives to reduce fragmentation in service delivery and expand access to care for children and youth.

The Lewin Group, NASHP, and the other team members will support implementation of the InCK Model through technical assistance, program monitoring, measuring awardees’ progress on critical program milestones and outcomes measures, data collection and analysis, and critical feedback loops to support awardees’ work toward their goals.

“The Lewin Group is excited to contribute to this innovative approach that breaks new ground in the delivery of child- and family-centered care and the development of pediatric alternative payment models. We look forward to working with CMS to positively impact of the health of the next generation,” said Lisa Alecxih, Lewin Chief Capabilities Officer.

“NASHP is delighted to partner with the Lewin Group to support this innovative CMS InCK model,” said Trish Riley, NASHP’s executive director. “We bring to this work our decades of expertise in state health care delivery system design, cross-sector partnerships, payment reform, and the unique needs of children and their families.”

The Lewin Group is an established leader in health care and human services policy research, analytics and consulting at the federal and state level.