National Non-Profit Organization Steps in to Help Virginia’s Uninsured Access Needed Healthcare

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., Jan. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF) – a national, non-profit organization based in Virginia providing assistance to tens of thousands of patients every year who face access to healthcare issues due to financial or insurance denials – and the Commonwealth of Virginia announced today in a news teleconference with Virginia daily newspapers such as the Daily Press (Newport News) and the Freelance Star (Fredericksburg) the 110-day program successes of the Virginia Cares Uninsured Program (VCUP), a patient assistance program created by PAF and the Commonwealth to assist Virginia’s more than 1 million uninsured residents access appropriate healthcare services when they are diagnosed with a chronic, debilitating or life-threatening illness. Additionally, PAF shared VCUP successes with the Virginia House and Senate Delegations from Northern Virginia yesterday at the Virginia General Assembly. Senator Charles Colgan, chairman of the Northern Virginia Senate Delegation, introduced the PAF team.

Since September 2007 when the program began receiving patients, the VCUP’s healthcare professionals have helped more than 780 uninsured Virginians who were facing various types of barriers to healthcare. To enroll in this program the patient must be a legal resident of the United States; currently residing in Virginia; and living with a diagnosis of chronic, life-threatening or debilitating illness. The VCUP’s case managers:

— Assist patients with applying, expediting decisions and appealing Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Long Term Disability (LTD) and/or Short Term Disability (STD)

— Negotiate funding and/or insurance coverage to access medical devices, surgical procedures, medications, medical discounts or write-offs for services, and clinical trials

— Negotiate access to free or reduced medication, nutrition, housing, utilities, and free or reduced transportation and lodging for patients who must travel for treatment

— Negotiate insurance with COBRA, Medicaid, Medicare, Risk Pool Coverage, Guarantee Issue Plans, HIPAA plans and FAMIS/FAMIS Select

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of the Census, approximately 47.6 million Americans do not have any form of health insurance. The 2005 Census estimates that in Virginia alone, there are 952,000 uninsured adults and 156,000 uninsured children, translating to approximately 12.8 percent of the state’s population. Uninsured patients such as these face a variety of serious medical debt and access to care crises – such as being unable to access needed medical care and screenings, fill prescribed medications or pay existing medical bills – that can significantly harm their quality of care and health outcomes.

“We are pleased to have been able to help so many of our fellow Virginians in just the first 110 days of the Virginia Cares Uninsured Program by providing expert case management at no charge to help patients gain access to healthcare services that meet pharmaceutical, surgical, radiation, physician and social service needs,” said Nancy Davenport-Ennis, President and CEO of PAF. “Quality healthcare is a basic human need and a shared social responsibility, and all Virginians should have access to a full continuum of healthcare services, particularly when diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.”

VCUP highlighted the first 110-day program successes including:

— Providing critical information and assistance to more than 780 Virginians, 380 of whom were uninsured with serious medical conditions and required case management assistance to create access to healthcare

— Conducting 82 outreach visits to Virginia community clinics, hospitals, Virginia Department of Social Services, and Virginia Medicaid offices to review benefits of the VCUP program for their consumers

— Developing and distributing program information to 138 hospitals and social service offices throughout Virginia

— Holding educational sessions with medical personnel and staff from four research hospitals, nine health departments and 13 medical clinics

— Launching the VCUP website, http://www.pafcares.org/, whereby uninsured patients can access additional information about the VCUP and PAF, download brochures and contact program case managers

— Providing quarter to half-page display ads in Virginia newspapers informing citizens of the VCUP program

Under the construct of the VCUP, PAF case managers work closely with patients to evaluate their individual needs, striving to facilitate access to timely and appropriate care. In some cases this includes helping patients apply to state or federal programs, while in others it requires detailed investigation into local, regional and/or disease specific resources and individual healthcare providers who accept and care for indigent patients regardless of their ability to pay. The VCUP program representative also negotiates for free medications, transportation to/from medical services, and any additional underlying social service needs to facilitate access to healthcare.

Additional PAF programs include Co-Pay Relief, National African American Outreach Program, Colorectal CareLine, LIVESTRONG(TM) Partnership and the National Hispanic Latino Outreach Program. For more information on the Virginia Cares Uninsured Program, visit http://www.pafcares.org/ or call 1-800-532-5274.

Patient Advocate Foundation is a national non-profit organization that seeks to safeguard patients through effective mediation assuring access to care, maintenance of employment and preservation of their financial stability.

Patient Advocate Foundation

CONTACT: Jenn Lawson of Patient Advocate Foundation, +1-703-548-0019

Web Site: http://www.pafcares.org/