The Denver Housing to Health (H2H) Pay for Success project will provide supportive housing for individuals at the intersection of multiple public systems—those who are experiencing homelessness; have a record of at least eight arrests, at least three of which are marked as transient, over three years in Denver County; have a recent Denver Police Department (DPD) contact; and are at high risk for avoidable and high-cost health services paid through Medicaid, including services received at Denver Health and Hospital Authority (Denver Health).
The project is an extension of the Denver Supportive Housing Social Impact Bond Initiative (Denver SIB), a supportive housing program designed to serve a population experiencing homelessness that frequently cycles in and out of jail. In addition to improving housing stability and reducing jail stays, the evaluation of the Denver SIB found that the intervention had an impact on health service use by increasing preventive office-based care and lowering the use of high-cost services, such as emergency department visits and inpatient hospital admissions. These shifts in health service use could result in a net decrease in claims billed to Medicaid and Medicare, which are largely paid by the federal government. (author abstract)