MUSKEGON, Mich. and TOLEDO, Ohio, April 25, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Catholic Healthcare Partners (CHP) and Trinity Health, two of the nation's largest Catholic health systems, announced today a new advocacy campaign to promote the passage of federal legislation that would help provide health care coverage to Americans without health insurance.
The legislation, the "Communities Building Access" Act, would provide federal grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to local communities across the nation for the purpose of providing health care coverage for uninsured individuals. The legislation is modeled after two proven and nationally lauded local health care coverage programs.
The programs, Access Health of Muskegon, Michigan, and the CareNet Program of Toledo/Lucas County, Ohio are widely recognized for their ongoing success in providing health care coverage for uninsured local residents. Mercy General Health Partners, a hospital belonging to Trinity Health, and Mercy Health Partners, a hospital system belonging to CHP, were instrumental in the creation and administration of the respective programs.
"This legislation is built on what has proven effective in the past -- local communities coming together to address a serious moral, social and economic problem," said Joseph Swedish, president and CEO of Trinity Health. "Tens of millions of Americans are currently without health insurance. This is not only a moral tragedy, it is the single greatest threat to health care access and affordability for everyone, and we are grateful to U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Holland) for sponsoring this important legislation."
The legislation has three major components:
-- "Multi-Share" Health Coverage Programs: Under this provision,
"multi-share" or "three-share" grant expenditures could be used
to help establish locally administered programs that help pay
a portion of the community's share of a monthly fee -- or premium
-- that is split between the community, the employer, and the
employee for a health insurance-like product.
-- Volunteer Specialty Provider Networks: Specifically aimed
at pre-enrolled, low-income individuals who receive donated
care services, grants would assist in increasing access
to specialty care, a known gap in health care for the uninsured.
Specifically, grants could be used for fees to recruit specialists
to an area; training fees for treating specialty conditions;
electronic medical records for uninsured individuals (known
to improve providers' willingness to volunteer), administration
of specialty care community clinics, and other uses.
-- A Local Health Program National Clearinghouse: A central
repository would be maintained for collecting, evaluating and
disseminating data and information for the creation of community-
based health programs for the uninsured.
For more than five years, the Access Health program has continued to successfully provide a full range of health care services for more than 1,200 enrollees working at more than 430 small- and medium-sized businesses in Muskegon. Before Access Health was implemented, none of these businesses were able to offer health insurance and commercial insurance products to their employees. Access Health, which was developed and implemented by the Muskegon Community Health Project, has been successful in achieving broad community acceptance with nearly 97% of physicians in Muskegon County participating in the plan.
Since CareNet was initiated in January of 2003 by the city of Toledo, Lucas County, local hospitals and physicians, the program has successfully provided ongoing care through primary care physicians to more than 7,600 uninsured residents. CareNet members, have accessed more than 17,700 primary care appointments, 2,000 specialty care referrals, 14,300 hospital services, and 7,467 Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority (TARTA) bus rides. Services encompassed 49 areas of specialization, including cardiology, oncology, urology and orthopedic services.
"The hallmarks of the legislation are local control, flexibility and innovation -- the very building blocks that have made true success stories out of Muskegon and Toledo's efforts to cover the uninsured," U.S. Rep. Hoekstra said. "While not a panacea, this legislation holds great promise for any locality across the nation that is grappling with how to cover their uninsured populations."
Both CHP and Trinity plan to dedicate the necessary resources to create and sustain a public advocacy campaign for passage of the legislation. CHP and Trinity also said that their efforts would involve their approximately 80,000 employees in 10 states as well as reaching out to other health care providers, companies and community organizations nationwide.
"Our goal with this legislation, as well as our mission as faith-based, non-profit hospitals, is to help the most vulnerable in society, in this case, those without health insurance," said Michael Connelly, president and CEO of Catholic Healthcare Partners.
"We are greatly encouraged by the success and national attention Massachusetts has earned when it decided that health insurance is something no one should go without. We want to build on that progress and keep this important dialogue going in order to make covering the uninsured a national priority," Connelly said.
Introduced today in the U.S. House of Representatives, the legislation has been referred to the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. A bill number has not yet been assigned to the legislation.
About Trinity Health
Based in Novi, Mich., Trinity Health is the country's fourth largest Catholic health care system based on operating revenue. Sponsored by Catholic Health Ministries, the system operates 44 hospitals (29 owned, 15 managed), 384 outpatient facilities, numerous long-term care facilities, home health offices and hospice programs, and a health care architectural firm. Trinity Health also owns and operates Care Choices, a health maintenance organization, and Preferred Choices, a preferred provider organization. Employing approximately 45,000 full-time staff, Trinity Health reported $5.7 billion in unrestricted revenue and more than $401 million in community benefit ministry in fiscal year 2005. For more information about Trinity Health, visit www.trinity-health.org.
The Trinity Health logo is available at http://media.primezone.com/prs/single/?pkgid=1108
About Catholic Healthcare Partners
Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, Catholic Healthcare Partners (CHP) is one of the largest not-for-profit health systems in the United States and the largest in Ohio with $4.06 billion in assets, employing more than 34,000 full-time and part-time employees and providing $211.5 million in community benefit. CHP consists of more than 100 organizations, including acute care hospitals, long-term care facilities, housing sites for the elderly, home health agencies, hospice programs, wellness centers with operations in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and nearby states. For more information, visit www.health-partners.org.