Super-Utilizer Summit: Common Themes from Innovative Complex Care Management Programs

The term "super-utilizer" describes individuals whose complex physical, behavioral, and social needs are not well met through the current fragmented health care system. As a result, these individuals often bounce from emergency department to emergency department, from inpatient admission to readmission or institutionalization -- all costly, chaotic, and ineffective ways to provide care and improve patient outcomes. To explore how Medicaid could best advance models for this high-need group of patients, the Center for Health Care Strategies, in partnership with the National Governors Association, hosted a Super-Utilizer Summit in February 2013. This report presents the Summit's common themes and key recommendations for building better systems of care for high utilizers.