EHF’s Dr. Ann Barnes provides opening remarks at the 2025 convening of the Texas MCO NMDOH Learning Collaborative in Austin
In 2018, EHF launched the Non-Medical Drivers of Health Managed Care Organization (NMDOH MCO) Learning Collaborative—a first-of-its-kind effort to bring Medicaid health insurance plans together to address the root causes of health outside the doctor’s office. Now, six years later, the Collaborative continues to grow as a trusted space for learning, innovation, and action in Texas.
Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) are health insurance plans that contract with the state to deliver Medicaid services to millions of Texans with low incomes. They play a critical role in coordinating care—but traditionally, they haven’t been equipped or incentivized to address non-medical factors like housing, food, and transportation that shape overall health.
Through regular convenings, shared resources, and expert facilitation, nearly every Medicaid MCO in Texas has taken part in the Collaborative’s mission: integrating non-medical drivers of health into the heart of care delivery.
The Collaborative is made possible through the support and partnership of Episcopal Health Foundation, Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, the Texas Association of Health Plans, and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
At the recent 2025 convening, participants came together to share progress, challenges, and next steps in embedding non-medical drivers of health into Medicaid strategies. The event featured discussion on emerging state policy, the value of cross-sector collaboration, and how MCOs are aligning upstream investments with member needs and outcomes.
The Collaborative is more than a meeting space—it’s a movement. It’s shifting the way Medicaid health plans in Texas think about care, centering the social and non-medical realities that drive health outcomes long before someone sees a doctor.
