UCFS and Backus Hospital Partner to Help the Uninsured
Vevalee Valentin, Access to Care Specialist with patient. |
United Community & Family Services, Inc. and the William W. Backus Hospital are working together to help the uninsured. The newly expanded Access to Care Program provides free insurance eligibility screenings to uninsured clients seeking care in the Backus Hospital Emergency Department (ED).
This program was started as a pilot program through a HRSA, Healthy Communities Access Program grant in October of 2006. The demonstrated success of the program and the clear need within the community has ensured its continuation.
An Access to Care Specialist is available in the busy ED to provide timely and onsite eligibility screenings for public insurance programs such as HUSKY, Title XIX and SAGA. Most of the necessary paperwork is done on the day the client presents to the ED. The Specialist assists the client in filling out all of the required forms. She then submits the forms to the Department of Social Services and helps the clients during the DSS review and approval process. A Spanish-speaking Specialist is also available.
The services provided by the Specialist go beyond the insurance application process. One of the important elements of the program is its ability to connect clients with a primary medical home. Clients seeking care in the ED for illnesses which are not medical emergencies often do so because they have no regular doctor and do not know where to turn. As a result, they almost never seek preventive care and frequently delay seeking care for even urgent medical needs. The Specialist helps clients find a primary medical home, often a community health center. For those without insurance, health centers offer sliding fee scales based on income and family size and provide care regardless of ability to pay. Clients are also connected to primary dental homes as well as other community based health and human services resources.
The Specialist at Backus can be reached at 860-425-3804. For more information, please contact Ann Marie Mackin, Supervisor of Community Outreach Services at 860-892-7042 ext. 378.
