The Texas Pathways Community HUB (PCH) pilot program is an organized pay-for-performance focused network of community-based organizations that hire and train community health workers (CHWs) to conduct outreach and assessment, and directly connect individuals to needed healthcare and social services. This model is being established in four communities throughout Texas to improve maternal health outcomes. 

In this brief, we provide a broad overview of the PCH model, the rollout of the PCH model in three of the four PCHs (Brazos Healthy Communities, Harris County Pathways Community, and Pathways Community HUB Wilco), and describe characteristics of individuals enrolled in the program and enrollment measures based on administrative data. Lastly, we describe existing lessons learned, including successes and challenges, from the implementation of the PCH benefit model.

This report finds that the PCH pilot program at three sites have been established and enrolled more than 400 unique individuals into pathways, with most of the individuals having been enrolled in multiple pathways. The type of pathway enrollment differs by sites, and for individuals enrolled in the pregnancy pathway compared with those not enrolled in the pregnancy pathway. 

Quality measures for those enrolled in the pregnancy pathway indicate that more work needs to be done to achieve recommended initiation of prenatal care and the number of prenatal care visits. Nevertheless, quality measures for birth outcomes look favorable relative to the county average outcomes. 

Finally, back of the envelope calculations imply potential savings in infant medical costs related to the delivery, indicating early successes of the benefit of the pregnancy pathway through reductions in preterm births. More work is needed to establish a causal relationship between the rollout of the Texas PCHI model, changes in outcomes, and medical spending.