Community health workers (CHWs), also known as promotoras de salud, community health representatives, and peer navigators, are frontline public health professionals who share lived experience with and often come from the same communities as the people they serve. CHWs use this shared background to build trust with patients and support connections between health systems and communities. A strong and growing evidence base demonstrates that care models engaging CHWs are an important strategy for addressing the needs of populations with complex health and social needs.

To better understand the CHW policy landscape as it relates to supporting people with complex needs and considerations for policymakers seeking to advance these efforts, the Better Care Playbook spoke with Carl Rush, principal consultant for Community Resources, LLC, and senior technical advisor to the National Association of Community Health Workers (NACHW). Carl Rush has advised on CHW policy initiatives in more than 20 states, directed a community college CHW program, and authored multiple reports related to supporting the CHW workforce. He authored a National Academy for State Health Policy brief on Medicaid approaches for CHW financing and supported development of resources for the NACHW Document Resource Center.