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Health Centers Urge Medical Safety Net for Hurricane Victims

Posted on: Wednesday, 5 October 2005, 15:00 CDT

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Community, Migrant and Homeless Health Centers are calling for Medicaid relief, including key provisions in a bill (S.1716) for Katrina victims sponsored by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-IA) and Ranking Member Max Baucus (D-MT). The Grassley-Baucus bill ensures that Katrina victims receive assistance similar to that given to New York after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and gives hurricane- affected states and areas 100 percent federal payment to sustain Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance plans.

More importantly, a crucial provision in the Grassley-Baucus bill provides direct federal payments to all health centers (FQHCs) and other safety net providers for the costs of uncompensated care provided to hurricane victims. Calls for Medicaid relief come as health centers continue to provide health care to evacuees and displaced families from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. According to the Health Services and Resources Administration (HRSA), health centers in 33 States have treated evacuees in the weeks since the Gulf Coast was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. As of Sept. 28, almost 46,000 evacuees have been treated at health centers across the country. Most were treated near the hardest-hit areas, with estimates of almost 21,608 evacuees treated in Texas, 10,753 in Louisiana, 3,000 in Alabama, and more than 2,500 in Mississippi. In more distant States, 1,900 evacuees were treated at health centers in Ohio, 1,170 in Georgia, and 1,500 in Tennessee.

"We need quality health care now more than ever to care for the thousands impacted by this disaster," said Dan Hawkins, Vice President for Federal, State and Public Affairs at NACHC. "Even though stories about the hurricane evacuees are no longer front page news, we still have a major public health problem facing our country. There are thousands of displaced families who need health care and cannot pay for it because they have lost their jobs and homes. Health centers are there to help them and no one is turned away, even if their resources are limited. If ever there was a critical time for the nation to shore up the safety net, this is it."

Health centers treating the influx of evacuees are coping with the challenges of providing needed care and medicine on fast depleting resources. Among them is Dr. Gary Wiltz, CEO of Teche Action Clinic, a health center in Franklin, Louisiana that has provided health care to over 300 displaced people since the hurricane, and dispensed over 519 prescriptions.

"Our doctors are faced with unusual circumstances in treating these patients. Many have no means of paying for these services, have been without medication, and are in need of counseling and other services," wrote Dr. Wiltz in a letter to the Louisiana Primary Care Association, requesting resources and staff to meet the increased patient demand. "Many (evacuees) are the elderly with multiple diseases and children. We are slowly depleting our medical and pharmacy supplies. If we are to adequately take care of the countless number of evacuees who are pouring into our community daily without sacrificing quality and safety of care, we must have sufficient supplies and medicines."

For additional information about health centers caring for Hurricane Katrina and Rita evacuees, or to speak with NACHC health policy experts, please contact Amy Simmons, Communications Director, NACHC: 202-296-1890, 202-309-0338 (mobile) or asimmons(At)nachc.com.

http://www.usnewswire.com

Source: U.S. Newswire

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