Announcing Every Hour Counts for HR1

Today we're introducing Every Hour Counts, Better Impact's program to help states meet H.R. 1's community engagement requirement by building on the volunteer network they already have.

Our goal is simple to say and worth saying plainly: a place to serve for every beneficiary, and no manual form for any nonprofit or volunteer.

Here's why we're doing this, what we're offering, and what we're asking of the people who care about volunteering as much as we do.

How this started

A while back, my phone started ringing in a way it never had before. First a government technology company, looking for volunteer opportunity data. Then a state volunteerism office, trying to figure out where people would actually go to serve. Then more states.

They were all asking a version of the same question. If adults on Medicaid now need 80 hours a month of work, school, a work program or volunteering, where do you send someone who chooses to volunteer? What states need is something like a job board, but for volunteering: one place where 211, Medicaid and community partners can send people to find real opportunities close to home.

What surprised them was the answer. That place already exists in most states. It’s the volunteer network, brought together in a statewide volunteerism hub: a real job board for volunteering, run with the state volunteerism bureau and filled with opportunities from the nonprofits already doing the work.

Three things every state needs to hear

1. The network you need already exists. Volunteer centers, statewide service networks and nonprofits already post opportunities, screen and schedule volunteers, and record hours every day. States don’t have to create that infrastructure. What they need is a statewide hub that brings those opportunities together in one place, and in 26 states, that hub already runs on Better Impact.   

2. States are making these decisions, and the volunteer network can help. Medicaid agencies and their technology partners are designing their approach now, and they can solve most of their concerns by inviting this network into the room. The network is already in place, and we’re glad to help make the introduction.

3. Hours can move without paperwork. States don’t have to rely on manual uploads of PDFs or paper logs. They can query verified hours through state volunteerism bureaus, the same way they already check payroll and school enrollment data.

And it isn’t only Medicaid. H.R.1 affects SNAP too. For Medicaid, community engagement is a brand-new requirement. For SNAP, work requirements already existed, and H.R.1 expanded who they apply to. Many states are navigating both at once, and the same volunteer network and verified hours can support people in both programs.

Two paths for every state

On the default path, a systems integrator builds a new volunteer marketplace from scratch. Nonprofits are asked to adopt one more portal. Coordinators confirm hours by hand, without funding. Beneficiaries carry paper logs to caseworkers.

On the connected path, 211 and Medicaid route people into the volunteer network the state already has. Nonprofits keep the tools they use today. Beneficiaries serve, and the record follows them.

Same rules, same people to serve. What decides the path is whether the state knows the network exists. States that work with the existing infrastructure are far more prepared than those recreating the wheel. I'm seeing this firsthand.

What we're announcing

Every Hour Counts brings together software and expert support, and it starts where the biggest difference is made: making sure there's a good place to serve near everyone who needs one.

Start here: opportunity coverage and a statewide volunteer network. We already work with many state volunteer commissions and volunteer centers, as well as benefit agencies, and we can work with more. Together we:

• expand volunteer center coverage across the state
• give 211 and Medicaid one place to send people
• find opportunity deserts and fill them, working toward an opportunity within five miles of every beneficiary
• set up each volunteer center so hours are recorded and reported correctly
• connect local centers into one statewide network
• prepare education for the people who need to meet the requirement

Next: connecting verified hours. Once your Medicaid agency knows about your volunteer network, we can discuss connecting verified hours to state systems: aligning on how the agency will check hours, planning automatic connections, and keeping track of state deadlines, on the timeline your state sets.

Why the timing matters. Deciding how your state covers the volunteer hours gap can have major benefits going forward, including clarity across every department involved and technical infrastructure that’s ready as volume grows.

Putting opportunity data to work. After all the outreach on H.R.1, Medicaid applicants are looking for volunteer opportunities now. Better Impact has information on verified volunteer opportunities across the country, so states can match people with roles that count, and eligibility workers can point members to a place to serve and help keep them enrolled.

Software plus people. State partners get the Better Impact platform, set up for H.R.1 Medicaid volunteer and opportunity management, together with strategic consulting from our team.

What we're standing up for

We were invited to respond formally to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on this requirement, and to advocate directly to the federal government on behalf of the volunteerism sector. We made two points, and they shape everything in this program.

Query before you burden. Nonprofits shouldn't carry new reporting or data requirements, in the same way beneficiaries don't. As we put it in the filing:

"The same philosophy CMS already applies to the beneficiary should be extended to the nonprofit. Ex parte verification exists because the state should check what it can already reach before it asks a person to produce a document. That principle, query before you burden, should govern the state's relationship with the organizations facilitating this work just as it governs its relationship with the individual."

Fund the organizations that step up. Hosting new volunteers takes real time and staff. The organizations that step up deserve recognition and support for that work.

And underneath both is the value that's guided Better Impact from the start: volunteers first.

Built on a network that's already working

Better Impact has served volunteer programs for more than 25 years. Today our network includes 15 million volunteer records and 65,000 volunteering locations, reaching more than 10,000 zip codes across 52 states and provinces. We've supported regional nonprofit preparedness work focused on opportunity deserts, and multiple states are in advanced conversations with us about opportunity discovery and hours reporting.

What you can do today

If you lead a volunteer center or a statewide network, three things will make a difference:

1. Reach out to your state’s Medicaid policy and technology leaders.

2. Make sure they know your volunteer network exists.
3. Offer to bring technology advisors into the room to help streamline how hours are reported.

If you work for a state, start with a conversation. We'll show you the volunteer network already in place, where the gaps are, and what a first pilot could look like.

This is an education problem before it's a technology problem. Every hour counts, and so does every introduction.

Learn more and join us live

• See how it works. Our new H.R.1 Medicaid page <Add link> walks through what makes volunteering count, how states are approaching the volunteer hours gap before 2028, and answers to the questions we hear most from states.
• Join the H.R.1 Medicaid Info Session. Every hour counts: a practical H.R.1 Medicaid briefing for states and volunteer centers. Tuesday, December 8, 1:00–2:00 pm ET. Our H.R.1 Medicaid experts will cover where to start, how to prevent avoidable breaks in coverage, and how to keep paperwork off everyone’s plate, with plenty of time for your questions. Register now
• Talk with us directly. Ready to talk about your state? Speak with an H.R.1 Medicaid expert.

Frequently asked questions

Every state is different. The answers below describe how things generally work in states where community engagement requirements apply; your state’s rules, exemptions and timelines may differ.

What is Every Hour Counts?

Better Impact's program to help states meet H.R. 1's community engagement requirement by building on their existing volunteer network, with software and expert support.

Where do states start?

With opportunity coverage: making sure there's a real place to serve near every beneficiary and connecting volunteer centers into one statewide network. Connecting confirmed hours to state systems comes next, once your Medicaid agency knows about your volunteer network. 

We already work with Better Impact. Is this part of our current plan?

Your current plan and quarterly cohort sessions stay just as they are. Dedicated 1:1 HR1 support is a new option you can add.

Will nonprofits have to report hours to the state?

It depends on how your state wants to receive the information. We offer options ranging from PDF exports to automatic data querying, so reporting can be automated where your state chooses.

What does it cost?

If your state would like to automatically query volunteer hours inside its existing eligibility and enrollment platforms, we have solutions and can walk through how to do that.