A new University of Michigan analysis reviews 46 studies evaluating interventions for "super-utilizers" of emergency department and prehospital care in the U.S. Here, the authors share their thoughts on the importance of their findings.

“Super-utilizers” have been the subject of much attention as health care systems work to reduce costs and provide better care. As part of their work to understand best practices for addressing the medical and social needs of high-need/high-cost patients, Samantha Iovan, Paula Lantz, Katie Allan, and Mahshid Abir published a systematic review examining interventions that are being implemented to address super-utilizers in prehospital and emergency care settings in the U.S.

Pay for success sparks innovation in the public sector while limiting risk to taxpayers by ensuring the government only pays for services that are effective. Importantly, it can bring financing to interventions for populations that are often forgotten, neglected, or deemed less worthy of taxpayer support, including people experiencing chronic homelessness.

In a recent opinion in The Milbank Quarterly, Dr. Lantz builds on insights from her P4A research portfolio to articulate concerns about the recent "medicalization" of population health within the health care system and its limits in making substantial improvements in population health.

Paula Lantz and Samantha Iovan of the University of Michigan Research Hub used their innovative pay-for-success (PFS) surveillance system to identify strengths and challenges of several supportive housing interventions using PFS, and to assess whether PFS housing projects generally meet established criteria for improving social welfare.

Steven H. Goldberg, Paula M. Lantz, and Samantha Iovan from the University of Michigan P4A Research Hub examine the use of federal Medicaid dollars as a payout source for non-medical services aimed at addressing social determinants of health under the 2016 Medicaid Managed Care Final Rule.

The Pay for Success model may prove to be a valuable tool for increasing critical investments in effective health and wellness interventions. The public-private nature of the approach can encourage important ties between the business community, investment groups, philanthropy, and public agencies and service systems; and stimulate innovative changes in the financing and delivery of sustainable, community-driven solutions.

What kind of cost savings could be achieved if a "Pay for Success" (PFS) financing model were applied to a home-based, multi-component asthma intervention among low-income children on Medicaid in Detroit? The University of Michigan Research Hub team found that the economics of a PFS intervention are most viable if it targets children who have already experienced an expensive episode of asthma-related care.

“Pay for Success” is a public/private partnership approach to financing proven prevention interventions that help the public sector save money or achieve greater value for an investment. This project will explore the potential for and best practices by which Pay for Success initiatives (also known as social impact bonds) can address the social determinants of health and reduce public expenditures on health/social services.