The safety net is under pressure, with federal grant access withering as need for services grows—and all of that is before we see a wave of residents who lose access to Medicaid or plans on the Maryland Health Benefits Exchange. Realizing that planning cannot wait for the full scope of the damage to be clear, the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Primary Care Coalition have been convening a collaborative series around Access to Care. The sessions bring together partners in the health care safety net to envision ways of meeting current and coming capacity challenges.
“DHHS and PCC are hosting a series of conversations among community partners to establish a shared vision for serving uninsured adults and children in the Montgomery Cares and Care for Kids programs,” says Annice Cody, PCC's President and CEO. “As demand increases, we want to leverage all available resources to maximize health care access and effectiveness.”
Over the four sessions, participants will move from defining the vision, to understanding the gaps between that vision and our current reality, proposing solutions, and agreeing on an action strategy.
“DHHS and PCC are hosting a series of conversations among community partners to establish a shared vision for serving uninsured adults and children in the Montgomery Cares and Care for Kids programs,” says Annice Cody, PCC's President and CEO. “As demand increases, we want to leverage all available resources to maximize health care access and effectiveness.”
Over the four sessions, participants will move from defining the vision, to understanding the gaps between that vision and our current reality, proposing solutions, and agreeing on an action strategy.
Outcomes by Phase
Themes that have emerged so far include:
- Navigating residents to the best available health program coverage—helping residents who are Medicaid eligible access those more robust benefits while directing those who are not toward safety net options.
- Expanding the scope of the current safety net for more seamless primary care, including better vaccine availability and more seamless transitions from cancer screening to diagnosis and treatment.
- Improving connectivity among levels and modes of care delivery—from DHHS-operated mobile clinics, to hospital emergency departments so that all roads lead back to health management in a primary care home.
- Increasing the shared infrastructure that supports primary care so health centers can use shared purchasing to create economies of scale around essential but outsourced services like imaging, lab testing, and more.
In other words, how can we create more of the day-to-day, operational collaboration that will best serve our community? There are no easy answers, but the opportunities are exciting.
This article has not been reviewed or approved by the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services.
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