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Barriers in the Buying Process for Health Plans to Adopt New Housing Solutions

For the past few years, I’ve had hundreds of conversations with health plans about implementing housing solutions. These conversations are usually a mix of excitement, curiosity, and- let’s be honest- a fair bit of hesitation.

By now, everyone knows housing and health are connected. That’s not up for debate anymore. The challenge? Actually doing something about it.

Despite the growing body of evidence that housing improves outcomes and reduces costs, a lot of health plans still struggle to move forward. And it’s not because they don’t want to—it’s because several real, practical barriers keep getting in the way.

What’s Holding Plans Back?

Internal Prioritization & Budget Constraints
Even when plans recognize the value of housing programs, they’re constantly balancing competing priorities. Budgets are tight, and adding a new program, especially one that requires coordination across multiple departments, takes effort.

It’s not that plans don’t want to invest in housing. They have to make tough decisions about where to allocate resources, and new programs have to clear a high bar to make the cut. That’s why we focus on making adoption as seamless as possible- aligning with existing initiatives, minimizing operational lift, and providing clear ROI from day one.

Fragmented Understanding of Housing Solutions
Housing is a big, broad issue, and many people inside health plans don’t fully understand the challenges their members face—or the solutions available. Often, plans think housing support just means paying rent. It’s not.

A real housing program is much more than that. It’s about keeping members in stable, safe homes by addressing mold, eviction prevention, rent increases, and affordability. If a plan isn’t thinking about housing in this way, it’s going to be tough to make real progress. Part of our role is helping them see the full picture- because once they do, things start to click.

State Policy & Medicaid Waivers
On the Medicaid side, state policy matters—a lot. If a state agency isn’t looking for housing programs in its managed Medicaid initiatives, it’s tough to push a program through. Even if the plan understands the value, it’s difficult to fund the investment without a clear directive from the state.
We Already Have a Housing Program
This is one of the biggest challenges. Almost every plan we talk to has some sort of housing program. On the surface, it can sound like what we do is similar to what they’re already doing. But once we get deeper into the conversation, it’s usually a different story.
We start by asking simple questions:
- How long does it take to contact a member once housing insecurity is flagged?
- How quickly do you place members in stable housing?
- What percentage of your cases actually close successfully?
For example, many plans aim to contact members within 2–5 business days. We do it within 13 minutes. Most plans take months or years to stabilize members—our average is 80 days. When we walk them through these details, the differences start to stand out.

Overcoming Barriers with Data and Flexibility

Proving ROI and Building the Business Case
Let’s be honest—data matters. Plans want to see proof before committing. Housing is still a relatively new space in terms of health interventions, and many plans want longitudinal data before making a decision. That’s fair.
We’ve spent the last few years collecting data and building a strong case:
- 93% enrollment rate for qualified members.
- 87.5% Situation Improvement Rate, based on members reporting better stability and well-being.
- 97% member satisfaction, showing trust and program effectiveness.
These metrics help us show how housing solutions don’t just help members—they also improve engagement, boost quality scores, and reduce overall costs.
Reducing Financial Risk with a Flexible Funding Model
Pricing is always part of the conversation, and plans want to avoid high-cost programs with low utilization. That’s why we keep our model simple:
- We only charge for members who are eligible and enrolled.
- We focus on measurable outcomes, not broad program fees.
This approach reduces financial risk and makes scaling easier. Plus, with a 90-day implementation timeline, plans can launch quickly and see results fast.

Building Trust and Differentiating Ourselves

One of the biggest hurdles we face is trust. Many plans initially see us as just another vendor offering the same thing they’re already doing internally. That perception changes quickly once we start digging into the details.

For example, we often ask how long it takes a plan’s housing program to respond to a member’s flagged housing need. Five to ten business days is a common answer. Our response time? 13 minutes, and 90%+ of members are connected within 24 hours.

We also go beyond housing navigation. 57% of our members use additional services—like deposit assistance and eviction prevention—to address other social determinants of health. This holistic approach creates better outcomes and higher engagement.

It’s these deeper conversations—exploring metrics like response time, placement success rates, and sustained outcomes—that help us build trust and show how we’re different.

What Needs to Change?

Here’s the good news: The conversation has already changed. Two years ago, we were shouting from the rooftops that housing stability was a problem no one was paying attention to. Now? Everyone gets it. The connection between housing and health is obvious.

The focus today is on execution and outcomes. We need to keep sharing success stories, showing what’s working, and putting members at the center of every conversation.

It’s not a question of if health plans will adopt housing solutions at scale. It’s just a matter of when.

Making It Happen

For those of us working in this space, the goal is simple: Keep building trust. Keep sharing outcomes. And most importantly, keep focusing on the members. That’s where real change happens and it’s already happening.