Blue Cross of Mass. awards $1.195M to help uninsured

The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation has awarded $1.95 million in grants to 17 health care providers, including two in the Southcoast area, to support efforts to serve the uninsured through outreach and education, prevention, and medical management.
The grants, from the Innovation Fund for the Uninsured, range from $55,000 to $95,000. The local beneficiaries are the Greater New Bedford Community Health Center and HealthFirst Family Care Center, in Fall River. Each got $65,000.
Greater New Bedford will use the money to revamp its chronic disease management and care coordination systems. The new system will network primary care providers so they can more easily use evidence-based strategies in patient care with support from dedicated case management workers. The target population for this initiative includes uninsured patients with diabetes, hypertension and asthma.
HealthFirst plans to implement a system to facilitate access to continuous and coordinated primary care for the area’s homeless population. Components of the program will include establishing a medical home for homeless individuals, forming partnerships with organizations to facilitate access, provider service referrals, and developing an “open access” scheduling system to accommodate appointments with homeless patients.
“State residents who remain uninsured despite the historic gains made under the state’s 2006 health reform law still need access to care,” said Jarrett T. Barrios, president of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation. “By funding these organizations, we are furthering the mission of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, which is to expand health care access for all residents of the Commonwealth.”
The Innovation Fund for the Uninsured grant program was established in 2001 to help improve the organization, continuity and completeness of care for the uninsured. The rate of uninsurance in Massachusetts is at an historic low, with more than 97 percent of state residents now insured, but low-income people and immigrants are uninsured at much higher rates still, and local providers report growing problems due to rising unemployment.
Founded in 2001, the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation aims to expand access to health care through grants and policy initiatives. For more information, go to www.bcbsmafoundation.org.