Access to Health Care
Chair, open
As a result of the closure of the Benton Franklin Access to Care program, the Health Alliance has convened a group of community health care leaders to examine an alternative system of care for the uninsured in our two counties. The ad hoc group has met three times and has developed recommendations for system change that would help to connect the uninsured to health insurance; assist with navigating the health care system; improve access to the system; increase access to specialty and ancillary care; and provide access to nation-wide pharmacy assistance programs.
Benton Franklin Access to Care Program
Brooke DuBois, President, Benton Franklin Access to Care Board of Directors
Benton Franklin Access to Care (BFAC), a non-profit 501 (c) 3 agency, suspended operations in April 2008 due to lack of funding. Its purpose was to connect low income ( up to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level) uninsured residents of Benton and Franklin County to health insurance and/or to affordable medical care.
BFAC was established in 2004 with a Healthy Communities Access Program grant from the federal government. The funding was discontinued in August of 2006 when federal priorities shifted as a result of the war in Iraq and Katrina. BFAC was able to continue to provide services through 2008 with contributions and grants from three local hospitals, the Group Health Community Foundation, the RGK Foundation, a Community Health Care Collaborative grant from the Washington State Health Care Authority as well as individual donations from local supporters. The program targeted 18,000 people (out of the 34,000 uninsured residents) in Benton and Franklin County who are at or below 200% FPL and lacking health insurance.
The BFAC Board is examining the development of a sustainable alternative approach to connecting the uninsured of the two counties to affordable and accessible health care.