Case for Financial Support. Improving Access to Health Care

Transcription

1 Case for Financial Support Improving Access to Health Care

2 рôr t cō: a way into a place Portico Healthnet serves as an entryway to healthcare coverage Who is Portico Healthnet? Portico Healthnet is a nonprofit health and human services organization that is making Minnesota healthier by connecting uninsured individuals and families to the resources they need to effectively manage their health. Portico s overall mission is to improve the health status and well-being of lowincome people by increasing the number who have health care coverage. For more than 19 years, Portico has been helping uninsured Minnesotans gain access to health care and effectively manage their health, Portico navigator helping a client enroll in health coverage making it possible to stay at their jobs, stay in school and lead higher-quality, more productive lives. We do so by reaching out to vulnerable populations, helping them navigate the often complex and confusing processes of determining what health coverage is available to them and completing complicated required applications. For those who do not have other options, we provide our own affordable care plan. Portico collaborates with partner hospitals and hospital systems, community organizations, health care providers, schools, social service agencies, and other organizations serving low-income, uninsured, immigrants, children and other under-served populations. Portico recognizes fully that the low-income, uninsured often have multiple needs and our aim as a navigator agency is to be the foremost organization in the region providing access to health-related services to people who have multiple needs. We strive to improve the overall health of our clients and help to put them on a course toward self-sufficiency. At the onset of the MNsure health exchange in the fall of 2013, nearly a half million Minnesotans lacked health insurance, and many did not have an alternative for health care. Need for Financial Support Our country has moved into a period of critical changes to our health care system as we recover from a prolonged economic downturn. Increasing numbers of people have not had access to employer-based health care coverage or have had other difficulties accessing care. While the Affordable Care Act and MNsure created multiple new opportunities to enroll people who are uninsured, it is vital that Portico focuses maximum resources to reaching these individuals and adapting and innovating to help meet the health care access needs of our region's vulnerable populations. To meet these evolving needs, Portico has embarked on a $2.3 million capacity-building initiative over three years. Increased staffing and IT infrastructure will enable us to serve a larger population of people in need and expand access to health-related services, including mental health and dental care, which play a vital role in cost-effective health management and personal well-being. Even as the Affordable Care Act has expanded eligibility for affordable health care coverage, under-served children and adults still face a range of barriers to accessing health care: financial, cultural, socioeconomic, as well as the need for assistance in navigating a complex and continually changing system.

3 Portico's menu of services includes: MNsure Certified Navigators who provide outreach services in the community, and personalized application and enrollment assistance for programs available through MNsure. Our unique alternative Coverage and Care Management program that includes education and guidance on how to use the health care system effectively. Portico s Health Access Line, which serves as a first stop in navigating a complex health care system for under-served people. Coverage alone does not ensure health care access and good health. Many people also need to learn how the health care system works, such as: the basics of preventive care (the importance of annual physicals, appropriate screenings, and keeping current on immunizations); how to determine if a health care concern should be treated at a clinic, urgent care setting, or the Emergency Department; and which health care expenses are the responsibility of participants (monthly fees, co-payments, etc.). Portico, as our name suggests, serves as a gateway to health care for many thousands of low-income, uninsured people annually. For uninsured individuals and families who do not qualify for Minnesota Health Care Programs or other affordable options, Portico provides its own alternative plan, which covers clinic visits, specialty and urgent care, prescriptions, outpatient mental health services and outpatient hospital services. 1,429 uninsured Minnesotans accessed health care through Portico s Coverage program last year. To accomplish our overall goals of expanded service Portico must guarantee our current organizational funding base while expanding our organizational capacity through increased fundraising and promotional activities. We welcome support from the philanthropic community in sustaining and developing our capacity to meet these challenges and serve the most vulnerable people in our communities. Following are four broad organizational goals of our capacity-building initiative: 1. Establish Portico as the Twin Cities metro region center for excellence for outreach and enrollment assistance. 2. Expand and adapt our Coverage program to continue to offer managed health care services for the remaining uninsured. 3. Provide connections to health-related community resources. 4. Raise $2.3 million over three years.

4 Last Year Portico by the Numbers Portico served over 14,000 uninsured Minnesotans We made over 5,000 referrals for other needs including food, housing, dental and mental health services to a network of more than 400 nonprofit service providers. We received 6,105 calls through our Health Care Access Line that resulted in screenings We referred over 1,000 people for affordable dental services to over 30 local dental providers We helped 2,300 become enrolled in Minnesota Health Care Programs While most of our calls are from the Twin Cities we received calls from people in of Minnesota s counties Portico received referrals for assistance from 373 agencies We had 1,429 families or 1,942 family members enrolled in our own coverage program in partnership with 13 of the largest hospitals in the Twin Cities Portico Outreach and Coverage Data Year Cumulative Summary Fiscal Year 2013 YEARS Total Served 14,000 70,000 Screenings 10,800 65,900 Referrals 5,000 36,900 Applications 3,100 15,800 Assisted Insurance 2,300 11,500 Enrollments Coverage Program 1,400 6,000 5 Year ( ) Cumulative Last year, Portico screened over 14,000 uninsured children and adults for different coverage options. Approximately 4,300 of these individuals appeared potentially eligible for Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare and 3,100 received personalized application assistance from Portico. 2,300 were successfully enrolled. Among those for whom we provided application assistance: 70 percent were people of color. 42 percent spoke a language other than English as their primary language. 54 percent were children (under the age of 19); 46 percent were adults. 92 percent had household incomes at or below 200% of federal poverty level. Health care access for individuals and families

5 Bernard, a recent immigrant from Africa and resident of Washington County, has a family of four. His words summarize the impact Portico has in the community: Were it not for Portico, we would not be able to pay the medical bills. Since we are not working enough to pay our bills, Portico played the role of mediator by helping me fill out the forms to get the insurance we needed with Washington County and Minnesota Care. When we recently had a baby, the bill came to $10,000 and I don t know how we would have paid this bill without the help of Portico. Bernard and his children For further information or to make an on-line contribution to Portico, please visit our website at or contact: Rob Larson Vice President of Development and Communications Portico Healthnet 2610 University Avenue West Suite 550 Saint Paul, MN rlarson@porticohealthnet.org