SPRING 2010
Pioneer Institute, an independent public policy research organization, announced on June 3 that a collaboration between Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership (MBHP) and the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance (MHSA) won the Pioneer Institute’s 19th Better Government Competition (BGC).
MBHP and MHSA’s entry was selected from a nationwide field of more than 200 candidates and an independent panel of distinguished judges selected the winners:
- Ms. Katherine Craven, Executive Director, Massachusetts School Building Association
- Mr. Andrew Davis, Managing Partner, Overall Capital
- The Honorable Kerry M. Healey, Former Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor
- Mr. Keith Hylton, Professor, Boston University School of Law
- Ms. Wendy Lane, Chairman, Lane Holdings
- Mr. Avi Nelson, WRKO Radio
- Mr. John O’Leary, Fellow, Ash Institute, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government
Pioneer Institute is an independent, non-partisan, privately funded research organization that seeks to change the intellectual climate in the Commonwealth by supporting scholarship that tests marked solutions against the conventional wisdom of more governmental involvement in Massachusetts public policy issues.
The proposal submitted by MBHP and MHSA, Containing the Cost of Medicaid by Providing Housing for Homeless Individuals, focuses on providing community-based Medicaid services to ensure intensive case management, paired with supportive housing, as a medical and cost saving intervention. The proposal highlighted the steep drops in Medicaid costs and increases in quality of life that result when chronically homeless people are placed into permanent housing with supportive services.
Click here to read about the runner-ups and special recognitions.
According to Pioneer Institute’s Executive Director Jim Stergios, “The winners of this year's Competition have two things in common: They do more with less and refocus programs on results – on improving the lives of our citizens.”
“We were absolutely thrilled to be chosen as the winner of this year’s Better Government Competition,” said MHSA President & Executive Director Joe Finn. “Empirical studies from here in Massachusetts and across the country prove that it costs less to end homelessness by providing permanent housing with services for homeless individuals, rather than simply managing their homelessness through a temporary shelter-based response. Better and more efficient use of mainstream resources such as Medicaid will be crucial in moving forward our effort to save lives while saving money for the Commonwealth.”
