Community health workers can now get paid through Medicare Part B
Since 2022, providers can bill Medicare Part B for community health worker services. For CHW Tiffany Stokes, that means she can continue to help her community and devote more time to her purpose: uplifting people who have experienced trauma.
Stokes, a San Francisco native, has been doing community health work for almost two years, officially. However, she has done outreach with the City and County of San Francisco for about 19 years. Stokes now works for SF City Vitals, a nonprofit that supports people experiencing homelessness, substance abuse and domestic abuse. Through the non-profit, Stokes is able to bill her hours and receive payment for the outreach she does in San Francisco. With this new billing code, more people are able to get resources and assistance. In her first 30 days working with the nonprofit, Stokes acquired 30 clients.
"It feels really amazing to finally be in an organization that is not going to stop me from shining, but is going to allow me to shine bright," said Stokes in an interview.
Stokes is a domestic abuse survivor and experienced a period of homelessness. For her, she has immense understanding and empathy for those who have gone through the same obstacles she has. She wears her experience proudly, her rings represent every year she has been sober and her bold color choices from her hair and clothing shows how her confidence and self-love lead her life and work.