Molina Healthcare of Washington Launches $3 Million Community Innovation Fund

Business Wire

BOTHELL, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Molina Healthcare of Washington today announced the launch of the Molina Community Innovation Fund (the Molina Fund), a program that will invest up to $3 million in Washington community-based organizations over three years. The Molina Fund will be dedicated to supporting innovative programs and pilots to lower access barriers, close community-based care gaps and address the social determinants of health for Medicaid beneficiaries in regions of Washington State that have implemented Integrated Managed Care (IMC).

Starting in 2019 and annually for three consecutive years, the Molina Fund will invest up to $1 million per year in Washington-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations serving Medicaid beneficiaries. Community-based organizations in regions that have implemented IMC will be invited to submit proposals that support community health priorities and that align with the Molina Fund program goals. For this inaugural year, Molina is accepting applications now through October 18, 2019.

The Molina Fund portfolio will include both Catalyst Investments ($50,000-$100,000 grants) to support program development and implementation of evidence-based or promising programs and pilots with measurable outcomes, and Accelerator Investments ($10,000 grants) to support capacity building at the local level. Regional proposals as small as $10,000 and as large as $100,000 will be accepted for consideration annually. Proposals will be accepted for a range of community needs.

“We are honored to have been given the opportunity to provide whole-person care by integrating physical and behavioral health care through IMC in every regional service area and county across the state,” said Peter Adler, president of Molina Healthcare of Washington. “Molina is committed to working collaboratively with community-based organizations to reduce barriers to accessing care. The Molina Fund will seek partners who share a commitment to expanding programs and services that focus on the whole-person health at the local level.”

Molina will invest in projects designed to meet the goals of the fund, which include:

Increasing access (or reducing disparities in access) to health care or health-related services
Addressing community-based needs and maintaining individuals in their communities
Demonstrating strong potential to achieve measurable improvements in health outcomes
Reducing avoidable health care costs
Complementing Accountable Community of Health (ACH), Interlocal Leadership (ILS) and other local community investment strategies

To be considered for a grant, organizations must be Washington-based, tax-exempt entities under a 501(c)(3) and not classified as private foundations. They must also align with Molina’s mission and serve Medicaid beneficiaries in IMC regions.

For 2019, IMC regions included in this scope are Southwest Washington (Clark, Skamania and Klickitat counties), North Central Washington (Chelan, Douglas, Grant and Okanogan counties), Greater Columbia (Asotin, Benton, Columbia, Franklin, Garfield, Kittitas, Walla Walla, Whitman and Yakima counties), King (King county), Pierce (Pierce county) and Spokane (Adams, Ferry, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane and Stevens counties).

Nonprofit organizations that are interested in applying can do so by going to MolinaHealthcare.com/MolinaFund. Grant recipients of the 2019 Molina Community Innovation Fund will be announced in November 2019.

About Molina Healthcare of Washington

Molina Healthcare of Washington has been providing government-funded care for low-income individuals for nearly 20 years. As of June 2019, the organization serves over 800,000 members through Medicaid, Medicare and the Health Benefit Exchange programs across the state of Washington. Additionally, Molina Healthcare operates a primary care clinic in Everett (MyHealth Everett) and a mobile health unit, MyHealth Mobile, in the Spokane area. For more information, visit MolinaHealthcare.com and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.