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Friday, July 12, 2013

UPDATE & CORRECTION

CONCORD, CA - Three East Bay health centers are slated to receive nearly $1 million in federal funding to assist in implementing the nation's new health law, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-Contra Costa County) announced today.

The grants, awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), will be used to enroll the uninsured and help consumers understand their coverage options in California's new Health Insurance Marketplace, known as Covered California. The grants will also help organizations determine an individual's eligibility for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, what financial help they can receive, and to help enroll them in new affordable health coverage options.

"I'm very pleased to see more federal resources dedicated to help people in the East Bay understand their insurance options and get enrolled in affordable coverage," said Miller, who co-authored the health care law. "Health care reform was 100 years in the making and there is still much work to do. Support like this will be critical to make health care accessible and affordable to everyone."

In all, $21.9 million was awarded today to 129 health centers operating throughout California. Local grant awards included:

• Contra Costa Health Services - $111,811
• La Clinica De La Raza - $473,612
• LifeLong Medical Care - $236,826

Contra Costa Health Services (CCHS) was awarded $111,811 per year in ongoing funds, contingent on availability, for outreach and education. CCHS will use the funding to hire two full time Community Health Workers to conduct outreach activities in the community and at CCHS' health centers to raise awareness about affordable insurance options and provide eligibility and enrollment assistance to uninsured Contra Costa County residents.

While the target population includes all eligible, uninsured individuals, efforts will also focus on outreach to eligible, un-enrolled homeless populations and will be conducted in collaboration with CCHS' Health Care for the Homeless and other CCHS programs. This opportunity will support CCHS efforts to reduce health disparities experienced by homeless clients by reducing enrollment barriers.

"This funding through the Affordable Care Act will help us reach people who desperately need access to health care and supports our efforts to reduce health disparities by reducing enrollment barriers," said CCHS Director Dr. William Walker.

La Clinica De La Raza, based in Oakland, will receive a $473,612 grant to provide education and enrollment assistance to community members and patients who are eligible for the expanded Medicaid and other health insurance programs that will become available in January 2014.

La Clinica expects to have about 7 staff members working on this project to reach 10,000 people in Alameda, Contra Costa, and Solano counties over the next 12 months.

"We are thrilled to have this opportunity to connect our eligible patients and other community residents to health insurance coverage and to ensure that they are educated and fully informed about their options." added Jane Garcia, Chief Executive Officer of La Clinica de La Raza.

LifeLong Medical Care will receive $236,826 to assist their outreach to the uninsured. Marty Lynch, Ph.D., CEO and Executive Director of LifeLong explained they are "fully committed to helping our community take full advantage of health reform. We will host outreach events in collaboration with our local, regional, and statewide partners to execute a comprehensive outreach strategy." He added that "LifeLong looks forward to assisting and educating 12,000 eligible individuals and families through our efforts, and we are excited to have this opportunity to help enroll uninsured patients into benefits that will ensure health coverage for them.

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