Medicaid, Food Security, & the Social Determinants of Health & Well-being

Military family readiness promotes service member and family health and well-being in a variety of ways. Among these are helping to connect service members and families to needed resources and supports at the community, state, and national level. In addition, family readiness requires an understanding of the underlying economic, social, and environmental factors that influence health status and outcomes. These factors may interact and have a compound effect. For example, a family facing health care costs may have to cut back on spending for necessary needs such as food and shelter. The inability to afford or access nutritious foods may contribute to chronic health conditions. Programs and services can help to address various threats to health and well-being. Medicaid is one such program. It is a joint federal-state program that has been providing healthcare access and coverage for millions of Americans, including military families, since 1965. Join this webinar to explore the connection between Medicaid, food security, and the well-being of your clients.

Learning Objectives: 

• Discuss social determinants of health paradigm. This model or paradigm, which accounts for the influence of underlying social, economic, environmental factors on health status and outcomes has been utilized by numerous authorities and experts, including the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Identify how Medicaid coverage can help to off-set the economic burden of health costs thus improving the economic status of families who can then better afford essential needs, such as food.
• Examine barriers and obstacles to accessing Medicaid and other programs due to factors associated with the social determinants of health.
• Determine various Medicaid services and initiatives focused on nutrition and food security.
• Review possible future steps and developments in Medicaid’s role in food security and in addressing the social determinants of health.

Food Security in Focus

Take advantage of OneOp’s Food Security in Focus collection, offering live and on-demand programming related to food security. 

Among our nation’s active-duty service members and their families, an estimated 24 percent are food insecure. Food insecurity adversely impacts racial/ethnic minority populations, lower-income populations, and rural and remote populations. Additionally, a rise in economic insecurity throughout the Covid-19 pandemic has contributed to increased food insecurity in vulnerable populations. Join OneOp as we focus on expanding food security for the military family and mobilizing family service professionals at federal, state, and local levels to work together on this issue.

Food Security in Focus

Presenter

Christopher Plein, Ph.D.
Professor of Public Administration
Eberly Family Professor for Outstanding Public Service
West Virginia University

Christopher Plein, Ph.D. is a Professor of Public Administration and Eberly Family Professor for Outstanding Public Service at West Virginia University. His academic research on health and social policy has been published in such journals as Health Affairs, the Journal of Health and Human Services Administration, and The Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Uninsured. His expertise on Medicaid and health policy has led to invited presentations at the state and national level, presentations to the West Virginia Legislature, and interviews with state and national media. Dr. Plein is also part of OneOp and works on issues related to military caregiving and individuals with special needs.

Continuing Education (CE) Credit

Continuing Education

• Certified in Family and Consumer Sciences (CFCS): This course is awaiting approval for 1.0 CE credits from the American Association for Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) for CFCS.
• Certified Nutrition and Wellness Educator (CNWE): This course is awaiting approval for 1.0 CE credits from the American Association for Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) for CNWE.
• Social Work, LPC, LMFT: Programming approval for 1.0 CE credits will be obtained for Social Work, Licensed Professional Counselors, and Licensed Marriage & Family Therapists from the University of Texas at Austin, Steve Hicks School of Social Work. Check with your state licensing agency for reciprocity and/or credit approval if licensed for other professions or in one of the following states: CO, FL, HI, IA, KS, KY, NY, ND, OH, OK
• Case Manager: This program has been submitted to the Commission for Case Manager Certification for approval to provide board certified case managers with 1.0 clock hours.
• Board Certified Patient Advocates: This program has been pre-approved by The Patient Advocate Certification Board to provide continuing education credit to Board Certified Patient Advocates (BCPA). The course has been approved for a total of 1.0 CE contact hour, of which 0.0 are in the area of Ethics.
• Accredited Financial Counselors (AFC): This webinar has been approved for 1 CE credit.
• Certified Personal Financial Counselors (CPFC): This webinar has been approved for 1 CE credit.
• Certificates of Attendance are available for providers interested in documenting their training activities.

Event Materials

Webinar Flyer

Food Insecurity Assessment Video

Photo Credit: iStock/wagnerokasaki