States have two new opportunities to integrate care for beneficiaries who are dually-eligible for Medicare and Medicaid: capitated models and managed fee-for-service models. While each type relies on different contracting approaches, an essential requirement for both is that states must have mechanisms for meaningful engagement of stakeholders — e.g., beneficiaries, advocacy organizations, care providers, and others — who may influence or be affected by integrating care.

This brief discusses the reasons why it is important to engage stakeholder groups; how to identify distinct audience groups within the stakeholder community; how to target messages to specific audiences; and what methods of communication are available. Examples of ways in which states are engaging with stakeholders are presented.