AmeriHealth Caritas Launches First of Three Investments to Support Innovative Community-Based Programs for Vulnerable Pennsylvanians

AmeriHealth Caritas, a national leader in Medicaid managed care and other health care solutions for those most in need, is demonstrating its commitment to long-term services and supports by launching a series of investments in community-based solutions to support vulnerable Pennsylvanians. The first of three planned investments will provide at-risk older adults with access to housing-related legal assistance.

Through the AmeriHealth Caritas’ Community HealthChoices (CHC) health plans, the plans of choice for eligible Pennsylvanians, $200,000 has been granted to SeniorLAW Center to fund this new initiative.

“We are committed to supporting Pennsylvanians with complex health care needs in innovative and efficient ways, with an overriding goal to promote independent living and participant satisfaction,” said Stephan Roker, Senior Vice President, Community HealthChoices for AmeriHealth Caritas. “For many older people, this assistance begins with understanding both their options and their legal rights related to housing, which this program will address.”

Through this grant to SeniorLAW Center, up to 750 participants, age 60 and above, enrolled with AmeriHealth Caritas’ CHC health plans will have access to housing-related legal assistance focused on mitigating the risk of eviction and promoting continued independence through community-based living. According to the U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey, more than 1 in 5 older adults say they are either “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to have to leave home due to eviction in the next two months. In Pennsylvania, 33% of “extremely low-income renter households” are headed by seniors, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

“Our team is excited to work with AmeriHealth Caritas to address the vital connection between health, safe shelter, independence, and access to justice,” said Karen Buck, Esq., Executive Director of SeniorLAW Center. “Legal services are an essential tool in addressing housing insecurity, notably because the law impacts our lives in dramatic ways, particularly low-income older people. This grant will help prevent eviction, foreclosure, illegal lockouts, uninhabitable conditions, utility shutoffs, contractor fraud, and other crises which make the difference between safe housing and homelessness. We are privileged to serve those upon whose shoulders we all stand.”

AmeriHealth Caritas will make additional investments in community-based programs in the coming months. These will seek to address workforce training and close the digital divide.

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