The Impact of Emergency Shelters & Case Management Services on Health
Profile
Colorado Village Collaborative (CVC) is a nonprofit organization in the Denver metro area that creates and operates transformational emergency shelter communities in partnership with people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. CVC manages three types of emergency shelter communities in the Denver metro area, all of which provide safe and secure emergency shelters along with comprehensive support services, peer support, and case management.
Summary
CVC is partnering with CIVHC to understand the impact of their transitional housing and case management services on health care equity, access, cost, and utilization, with nearly all of CVC’s program participants enrolled in Medicaid. CIVHC has leveraged CO APCD data to assess the impact of CVC programs on emergency department visits and overall healthcare costs. CIVHC will also utilize CO APCD claims from 2015 – 2023 to explore how stable transitional housing offered by CVC affects their participants’ ability to access and optimize insurance, use preventative services, and manage their chronic health conditions.
Findings
The evaluation results indicate that the CVC interventions significantly impact the unsheltered population in the Denver metro area. After adjusting for individual variability and insurance types, the study showed that CVC participants experienced reduced emergency department visits and increased annual primary care visits after enrolling in the program. While overall health care utilization and costs rose, out-of-pocket expenses remained relatively low. CVC services appear to improve participants' access to health care coverage, with 38 additional CVC members gaining access to Medicaid in the post-period compared to the pre-period. This enhanced access to health care likely improved their ability to use medical resources. Lastly, CVC provided housing stability, allowing participants to seek lower-cost health care outside of the emergency department.
