January 21, 2026
Statewide initiative addresses housing instability—a critical barrier to health—for New Jersey’s Medicaid population
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL and NEWARK, NJ – Upside, a nationally scalable housing stability solution, today announced a partnership with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Horizon BCBS) to provide comprehensive housing support services to Medicaid members across the Garden State. Beginning January 2026, Upside will deliver Pre-Tenancy Services, Tenancy Sustaining Services, Move-in Supports, and Community Transition Services as part of NJ FamilyCare’s Housing Supports Program—making these critical interventions available to eligible Horizon NJ Health members statewide.
The partnership addresses an urgent need: New Jersey faces a severe housing affordability crisis, with only 31 affordable rental homes available for every 100 extremely low-income households. Seventy-four percent of extremely low-income renters in the state spend more than half their income on housing, forcing impossible choices between rent, food, and healthcare. For Medicaid members already managing chronic conditions, housing instability becomes a health crisis—dramatically increasing emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and healthcare costs.
“We’re excited to bring Upside’s proven housing stability solutions to New Jersey,” said Jake Rothstein, Co-Founder and CEO of Upside. “Housing isn’t separate from healthcare—it’s fundamental to it. When someone doesn’t have a stable place to live, managing diabetes becomes nearly impossible. Keeping up with medications, attending appointments, even storing insulin safely—all of it depends on having a home. This partnership with Horizon BCBS allows us to intervene before housing instability derails health, connecting members to safe, supportive housing and the wraparound services they need to thrive.”
Upside’s model combines human-powered care navigation with AI-supported housing orchestration to deliver personalized support at scale. Dedicated Care Guides—licensed social workers and housing specialists—work directly with referred members to assess their unique situations, develop customized housing plans, and navigate complex systems including landlord negotiations, application assistance, eviction prevention, and connections to community resources. The platform serves members across three housing readiness levels, from crisis intervention to long-term tenancy support.
Since its founding in 2020, Upside has stabilized thousands of vulnerable members across multiple Medicaid managed care partnerships, demonstrating measurable reductions in emergency care use, hospitalizations, and fall risk. For members ready to be housed, Upside achieves an 85% stabilization rate in an average of 70 days. The company’s Care Guides—who bring expertise in behavioral health, real estate, and social services—provide rapid, personalized support from the moment of referral. Services are available in 240+ languages, ensuring accessibility for New Jersey’s diverse Medicaid population.
Horizon members experiencing housing instability or at risk of homelessness will be referred to Upside through the health plan’s care management teams. Upside’s services address the full spectrum of housing needs—from helping someone find their first apartment after leaving a nursing facility, to preventing eviction for a family one paycheck away from losing their home, to supporting seniors who need accessibility modifications to age safely in place.
The Horizon-Upside partnership reflects a broader national movement recognizing that healthcare outcomes are inextricably linked to social determinants like housing. Research shows that adults experiencing homelessness have health profiles equivalent to someone 20 years older, and housing insecurity alone raises the odds of stress by nearly 50%—a direct precursor to costly healthcare utilization.
New Jersey is among eight states with CMS-approved Section 1115 demonstrations under the Health-Related Social Needs framework, enabling Medicaid programs to invest in evidence-based housing interventions. By integrating housing stability services directly into managed care, Horizon BCBS aims to improve member health outcomes, reduce avoidable emergency care, and address healthcare costs at their root cause.
Upside is a nationally scalable housing stability platform purpose-built for healthcare. The company partners with health plans and employers to proactively identify and stabilize members and employees experiencing housing instability — connecting them to safe, supportive housing while reducing avoidable emergency care utilization and improving health outcomes. Upside’s model combines dedicated Care Guides — licensed social workers and housing specialists — with AI-supported housing orchestration to deliver measurable results at scale. The platform serves Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, D-SNP, commercial, and employer-sponsored populations across the full housing continuum, from crisis intervention to long-term tenancy support. Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, FL, Upside is redefining how healthcare organizations address housing as a foundation of care. For more information, visit www.joinupside.com.
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey is the state’s largest health insurer. As an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Horizon BCBS is committed to improving the health and well-being of the communities it serves. Horizon NJ Health is an affiliate of Horizon BCBS and the largest Medicaid Managed Care Organization in New Jersey.
Upside Corporate Headquarters
200 E Las Olas Blvd 14th Floor
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