ACL - Administration for Community Living

07/21/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/21/2026 14:30

Health at Home Challenge Phase 1 Winners

July 21, 2026

ACL has announced the winners of the first phase of its Health at Home Challenge. This Challenge is designed to support independence, improve health, and reduce costs for up to one million dually eligible (or near-dually eligible) Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries by scaling advanced community care networks that partner with healthcare organizations to integrate healthcare and community care.

In Phase 1, teams of advanced community care networks and healthcare organizations proposed strategies for scaling comprehensive community-based services. The Phase 1 winners were selected for their innovative approaches to deliver community-based services, including navigation, care coordination, care transitions, evidence-based health promotion programs, and nutrition services to large populations of dually eligible or near-dually eligible Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

Phase 1 Winners

  • Community Care Solutions / SARCOA (Dothan, AL). SARCOA serves as an advanced community care network across 18 counties in southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. Healthcare partner: Statera Health/Southeast Health Accountable Care Organization.
  • Partners in Care Foundation, Inc. (San Fernando, CA). Partners in Care Foundation anchors a statewide advanced community care network across all 58 California counties. Healthcare partners: Kaiser Permanente, CommonSpirit, Molina Healthcare, Blue Shield Promise, and Health Net.
  • Denver Regional Council of Governments (Denver, CO). DRCOG serves as an advanced community care network for the Denver metro region, connecting dual-eligible residents across eight counties. Healthcare partners: UC Health, CommonSpirit, and Denver Health Medical Plan.
  • AgeSpan (Lawrence, MA). AgeSpan is a statewide advanced community care network linking dual-eligible residents to coordinated care through payor contracts across Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Healthcare partners: Commonwealth Care Alliance/CareSource, Fallon Health (NaviCare), and Mass General Brigham Health Plan.
  • Mid-America Regional Council (Kansas City, MO). MARC anchors an advanced community care network across all 115 Missouri counties. Healthcare partners: UnitedHealthcare, Molina Healthcare, Aetna Better Health of Missouri, and the EverTrue PACE program.
  • Western New York Integrated Care Collaborative (Buffalo, NY). WNYICC leads an advanced community care network across 40 counties in New York and Pennsylvania. Healthcare partners: Primary Care IPA, Erie County Medical Center, Catholic Medical Partners, and Independent Health.
  • O4AD / Oregon Wellness Network (Salem, OR). The Oregon Wellness Network anchors a multi-state community care network across nine states - Alabama, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia. Healthcare partner: CCH Medical Group.
  • CATCH Greater Houston (Houston, TX). CATCH Greater Houston serves as an advanced community care network across the Houston metro area. Healthcare partners: Houston Health Department, Harris Health, Memorial Hermann, and UT Physicians/UTHealth Houston.
  • VAAACares® (Urbanna, VA). Led by Bay Aging, VAAACares serves as a statewide advanced community care network. Healthcare partners: Embrace Prevention Care, Gloucester Mathews Care Clinic, and Veterans Affairs Medical Centers.
  • HealthierHere (Seattle, WA). HealthierHere leads a statewide community care network across 19 Washington counties. Healthcare partners: CommonSpirit Health and Providence.

Honorable Mentions

  • AIHS Community Care Navigation Network (Fort Wayne, IN). Aging & In-Home Services of Northeast Indiana serves as an advanced community care network across a nine-county region. Healthcare partners: UnitedHealthcare, BeneLynk, and Alliance Health Centers.
  • Direction Home Akron Canton (Uniontown, OH). Direction Home serves as an advanced community care network for the Akron-Canton region with plans to expand to two other rural and urban regions. Healthcare partners: Summa Health System, Medical Mutual, Compass Community Health, and Axess Family Services.

The Phase 1 winners will advance to Phase 2, where they will implement their proposed strategies. Up to five Phase 2 winners will advance to Phase 3, where they will scale up successful approaches and demonstrate increases in days at home and reductions in total cost of care for beneficiaries. Phase 2 winners will be announced in summer 2027.

Learn more about the Challenge

ACL - Administration for Community Living published this content on July 21, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on July 21, 2026 at 20:30 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]