Outreach Works: Strategies for Expanding Health Access in Communities

180 Pages·2001·8 MB·English

by  DeChiara, M.;Unruh, E.;Wolff, T.;Rosen, A.

Know
the
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Outreach Works is essentially the tale of two strategies. When married together these two strate-
gies strike a proven formula for helping uninsured individuals get the health coverage for which
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they are eligible and access to the care they need. The first providing famil—ies with application
assistance in their own communities from people who —know the community is a tried and true
method for which there is no substitute. The second organizing the broad range of commu-
nity groups and ins—titutions, providers, and public officials to form a supportive, responsive Health
Access Networks provides an anchor for outreach workers and a vehicle for moving forward
on new ideas to improve the system. This dual approach has helped to make Massachusetts one
of the states that has made significant strides in reducing the number of uninsured residents."
Donna Cohen-Ross
Director ofOutreach
Center on Budget andPolicy Priorities
Washington, D.C.
Despite our strong national economy, low unemployment level, and shrinking welfare rolls, the
number of uninsured Americans has continued to grow. Today, more than 44 million people
living in America do not have health insurance. For them, being uninsured has made a consider-
able difference in their financial security, access to care and, sooner or later, to their health.
Clearly, one of the largest challenges that we face is how to reach and enroll uninsured people who
are eligible for Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Not all eligible
disabled people or working-poor families and children are participating in these programs, de-
spite a strong commitment to find and enroll those who would benefit from them.
In 1997, Massachusetts embarked on a multi-modal approach to reach and enroll uninsuredpeople
We
living within the state. solicited input from, and coordinated our efforts with, other state
agencies, municipalities, businesses, medical associations, advocacy groups, and community or-
ganizations. By all accounts, the community participation we received was crucial to the success
we achieved. We have reduced our overall rate of uninsured to 8%, and our rate of uninsured
children to 2.8%.
Outreach Works: StrategiesforExpandingHealth Access in Communities shares the vital importance
of state partnership with community-based organizations for effective and successful community
outreach. It is a well-documented look at the contribution made by community organizations in
Massachusetts to help improve the insurance coverage and access to care for uninsured and
underinsured individuals. It is a valuable resource to be used in continuing to strive for increased
insurance coverage."
OMH-RC-Knowledge Center
Wendy Warring 5515 Security Lane, Suite 101
Commissioner MD 20852
Rockviile,
Massachusetts Division ofMedical Assistance 1-800-444-6472
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OUTREACH WORKS
Strategies for Expanding
Health Access in Communities

OUTREACH WORKS
Strategies for Expanding
Health Access Communities
in
Michael DeChiara
Ellen Unruh
Tom
Wolff, Ph.D.
Anne Rosen
We
encourage the reproduction of this book, but request
that you acknowledge the source
AHEC/Community Partners 24 South Prospect Street Amherst, MA 01002
o
OUTREACH WORKS
ISBN 0-9678782-1-7
We
encourage the reproduction of this book, but request
that you acknowledge the source
Winter 2001
Printed and bound in the United States of America
Dedicated to tke< millions ofAntevLauu
who cannot access tke< health care< tkey deserve
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