Kristin Godfrey Walters

All right. Well, I'll take a start and then pass it on to Vani or others. So I think in general, um, community health workers in Minnesota are employed by organizations. Um, like you mentioned, like the healthcare clinic, the, uh, you know, the community organization that, uh, NASA deer worked for.

All right. Well, I'll take a start and then pass it on to Vani or others. So I think in general, um, community health workers in Minnesota are employed by organizations. Um, like you mentioned, like the healthcare clinic, the, uh, you know, the community organization that, uh, NASA deer worked for.

The county that or the the government organization that money worked for so in general those organizations have to have a funding mechanism to hire a Community health worker and that may be. You know it's usually a mix of grant funding some healthcare reimbursement dollars, which again can only be accessed for. organizations that can bill for healthcare services. And then operational funding.

The county that or the the government organization that money worked for so in general those organizations have to have a funding mechanism to hire a Community health worker and that may be. You know it's usually a mix of grant funding some healthcare reimbursement dollars, which again can only be accessed for. organizations that can bill for healthcare services. And then operational funding.

So usually there's a mix of different funding sources for community health workers. And of course, there's also community health workers in the community that volunteer their time and probably don't get paid for their time or are independent contractors.

So usually there's a mix of different funding sources for community health workers. And of course, there's also community health workers in the community that volunteer their time and probably don't get paid for their time or are independent contractors.

So there's a number of other models, but I'd say in general, employers or organizations have to have funding or come up with funding or commit funding to, you know, hire community health workers to, you know, to reach their goals and their mission and their work with patients and individuals.

So there's a number of other models, but I'd say in general, employers or organizations have to have funding or come up with funding or commit funding to, you know, hire community health workers to, you know, to reach their goals and their mission and their work with patients and individuals.

And as you mentioned, one of the funding sources in Minnesota is reimbursement for patients that are on Minnesota health care programs, clinics or providers that are set up to bill for services. So fee for service can can bill for community health worker services.

And as you mentioned, one of the funding sources in Minnesota is reimbursement for patients that are on Minnesota health care programs, clinics or providers that are set up to bill for services. So fee for service can can bill for community health worker services.

However, one thing that we're working on and can talk more about, or the Alliance is working on and can also talk more about, is right now it's a narrow scope of services that are billable. So community health workers complete their academic certificate program, as Angela talked about. So they complete their, they get a community health worker certificate.

However, one thing that we're working on and can talk more about, or the Alliance is working on and can also talk more about, is right now it's a narrow scope of services that are billable. So community health workers complete their academic certificate program, as Angela talked about. So they complete their, they get a community health worker certificate.

They can then apply to the Minnesota Department of Human Services to get what's called an UMPI number, which is a billing number that's similar to an NPI number that a provider would get And then for the organization that they're working for, they need to have general supervision by usually a licensed provider or healthcare professional, which there's a long list of what that includes.

They can then apply to the Minnesota Department of Human Services to get what's called an UMPI number, which is a billing number that's similar to an NPI number that a provider would get And then for the organization that they're working for, they need to have general supervision by usually a licensed provider or healthcare professional, which there's a long list of what that includes.

And then the services that are diagnosis-based health education type of services are reimbursable. through the billing and claims system. So it's great that there's reimbursement and it's also a fairly limited scope of the services. You heard all of the services that community health workers provide.

And then the services that are diagnosis-based health education type of services are reimbursable. through the billing and claims system. So it's great that there's reimbursement and it's also a fairly limited scope of the services. You heard all of the services that community health workers provide.

It's kind of a subset of services that are reimbursed and it needs to be in a setting that can be billed to insurance. And right now it's primarily for those that are on Minnesota healthcare programs, which is great, but that may also not be everyone.

It's kind of a subset of services that are reimbursed and it needs to be in a setting that can be billed to insurance. And right now it's primarily for those that are on Minnesota healthcare programs, which is great, but that may also not be everyone.

So there is, so I guess to kind of sum that up a little bit, as you talked about the organizations that are looking to support, you know, should I hire a nurse or should I hire a community health worker? And, you know, how is the organization going to sustain or maintain that position?

So there is, so I guess to kind of sum that up a little bit, as you talked about the organizations that are looking to support, you know, should I hire a nurse or should I hire a community health worker? And, you know, how is the organization going to sustain or maintain that position?