RFP Info

Access Health 100 Access to Care Background Information

The healthcare delivery system within The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati’s 20-county service has many assets: Federally-Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) practice sites; private, hospital-based resources; public health primary care services; and other community providers all committed to providing care to uninsured and underserved populations. However, these resources are not evenly distributed throughout the region and people in some areas do not have access to healthcare services. Having access to healthcare results in better individual and community health outcomes, more appropriate use of resources, and a better quality of life.

Access to primary care does not just mean having a place to go for care. It also includes appropriateness, affordability, and acceptability of services. Appropriate primary care means having a medical home, which is a regular place that provides routine medical or dental care and that links the person to other services in a timely manner. The care is affordable, whether through insurance, other coverage programs, or out-of-pocket payment.

Over the last several years, communities throughout the country have developed solutions to improve access to healthcare. Providers within the Greater Cincinnati region have realized the need to do the same. The region is facing increases in the number of uninsured, the number of hospitalizations that could have been prevented through routine primary care, the rate of uncompensated care, and continuing threats to the safety net infrastructure.

Findings from the 2005 Greater Cincinnati Community Health Status Survey revealed the following trends:

29% of uninsured adults—or almost 80,000 adults—did not have a medical home.
55% of uninsured adults and 42% publicly insured adults did not have a dental home
6% of the publicly insured and 7% of the uninsured used a hospital emergency room (ER) as their medical home.
23% of uninsured adults and 18% of publicly uninsured adults reported that someone in their household had to take unpaid time off work so that they or another household member could get healthcare.
11% of adults with public insurance and 7% of the uninsured did not have access to transportation if they need to get to the doctor or a pharmacy.
74% of uninsured adults reported that they were working full- or part-time.

While these numbers are representative of the overall population, safety-net providers, such as FQHCs and public health clinics, indicate that they are seeing an increasing number of uninsured patients in their primary care practice sites. They also report a high demand for dental, behavioral health, and other specialty services.

Access Health 100 is working to increase access to care through an integrated system that involves numerous access points:

Funded Projects

To date, the Health Foundation has awarded 20 grants to organizations in Greater Cincinnati to begin the work of Access Health 100 and address the priority areas. The grant projects in each priority area are:

Developing Pathways to Primary Care

A Healthy Start for Life/Butler County - Butler County Community Health Consortium
Dental Urgent Care Feasibility analysis - Cincy Smiles Foundation
West Side Cincinnati Health Access - Crossroad Health Center
Community-Based Family Practice Residency Program - HealthSource of Ohio
Community Care Access Network Expansion - Mercy Health Partners of Southwest Ohio
Emergency Response Utilization Survey - Vanguard Medical d.b.a. Univeristy Emergency Physicians
Medical Navigator Interventions - The Workforce Development Collaborative
of Northern Kentucky, Inc. in collaboration with Health Point Family Care
Increasing Medical Home Capacity - Health Care Connection in collaboration with Mercy Health Partners
Medical Outreach Program - West End Health Center in collaboration with
Winton Hills Medical & Health Center, University Hospital
Community Care Access Network - Mercy Health Partners of Southwest Ohio in collaboration with FQHCs, hospitals, and supporting organizations
Developing Pathways to Improve Primary Care - Cincinnati Health Department in collaboration with FQHCs, hospitals, and
supporting organizations
Primary Care Collaborative for Central and Southeast Cincinnati - Neighborhood Health Care, Inc. in collaboration with Crossroad Health Center
Coordinated Transportation and Medical Services System - Lifetime
Resources in collaboration with Indiana County Hospitals

Building Access to Healthcare Coverage for Small Business and Low-Wage Employees

CincyCare Initiative - Cincinnati Health Department
Defined Health Benefits Plan Feasibility Analysis - The Workforce
Development Collaborative of Northern Kentucky, Inc
Ohio Healthy Workers and Premium Assistance Program - Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati

Creating Community Connections for High-Risk Populations

Medical Transportation Planning - Everybody Rides Metro Foundation
McMicken Health Collaborative - Cincy Smiles Foundation
Community Health Workers Planning and Pathways Program - Healthy Moms and Babes in collaboration with Social service agencies and primary care providers

Integrating Private Practice Physicians into Primary Care Networks for the Uninsured

Study of Greater Cincinnati Area Physicians Participation in
Uncompensated Care - The Foundation of the Cincinnati Academy of Medicine