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New Jersey Primary Care Association: Health Centers Mark Cover The Uninsured Week

Posted on: Tuesday, 25 April 2006, 18:00 CDT

PRINCETON JUNCTION, N.J., April 25 /PRNewswire/ -- New Jersey Primary Care Association has joined the groundswell of support for Cover The Uninsured Week (May 1-7, 2006), a national campaign organized to galvanize public awareness about the need for affordable and reliable health care coverage. The participation of New Jersey Primary Care Association in Cover The Uninsured Week comes as more and more people look to America's health centers for their health care, and independent studies conclude that uninsured people who live near a health center are less likely to have an unmet medical need.

According to the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), 20 million people live in 900 high-poverty counties that need a health center. They represent 10 percent of the nation's poor and 8 percent of the uninsured, yet they live in communities that are most likely to need a health center and do not have one. The Bush Administration has cited the expansion of the health centers as one way to mitigate the national problem of the uninsured and underserved. The President recently proposed a funding increase of $181 million for the health centers program to serve 1.2 million additional people.

"Community health centers know well the faces of the uninsured in America," says Katherine Grant Davis, executive director, New Jersey Primary Care Association. "They are our family members, our neighbors, our friends whose jobs do not provide them insurance or who cannot afford private coverage. We are proud that we provide vital, life-saving preventive and primary health care to every man, woman and child who comes through the doors."

Yet for every uninsured patient that is cared for by a community health center, there are 10 other people who are sick and need life-saving specialty and inpatient care, or prescribed drugs and diagnostic tests, and don't have the insurance to cover it. "That is why we are joining forces with other organizations to call for a solution to this health care crisis," says Katherine Grant Davis. "Community health centers alone cannot solve the problem of the uninsured."

Nearly 1,500 events are scheduled for Cover The Uninsured Week in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. As providers of health care to 6 million uninsured people, health centers from coast-to-coast will be hosting events as part of the national campaign in an effort to focus attention on the growing population of uninsured people and spread the word that no one is turned away from care at a health center, regardless of their ability to pay, or, especially insurance status.

"Cover The Uninsured Week could not come at a more critical time for health centers," said Katherine Grant Davis. "In New Jersey alone, 44% of community health center users are uninsured. Our 21 community health centers serve as the essential safety net for more than 322,134 people in New Jersey, who are for the most part uninsured, vulnerable and medically underserved."

Health centers are one of the few places to which the uninsured can turn for care as "safety net providers," a health care network which provides primary and preventive care to anyone who needs it regardless of their ability to pay. The New Jersey Primary Care Association is proud to join the health care community in extending our support to Cover The Uninsured Week. Affordable and accessible health care should be a reality for all.

Attached is a list of the themed activities for Cover The Uninsured Week planned at various Federally Qualified Health Centers.

For more information, contact NJPCA at 609-275-8886 or visit our website at http://www.njpca.org/.

Cover The Uninsured Week, May 1-7, 2006, List of Activities of Participating Health Centers AtlantiCare Health Services, 2009 Bacharach Blvd. Atlantic City, NJ 08401

Outreach teams will be dispatched to high-risk areas all week, especially in Atlantic City, to promote the use of health centers and the need for patients to get high quality primary and preventive care for episodic and chronic conditions, rather than waiting for their health problems to progress. The health center will provide information for the uninsured.

Monmouth Health Care, 270 Broadway, Long Branch, New Jersey 07740

On Tuesday, May 2, 2006, there will be open enrollment for New Jersey Family Care and Medicaid, from 9:00 A.M. to 5.00 P.M.

Community Health Care, 70 Cohansey Street, Bridgeton, New Jersey 08302

The health center will sponsor a "Spring Fling" on April 29th from 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. as part of the Mayor's Campaign for a Healthier Millville.

On, Thursday, May 4, 2006, open enrollment for the uninsured will take place at the health center.

Eric B. Chandler Health Center, 277 George Street, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901

The Social Services/Outreach Department will have information posted on the bulletin board the entire week to promote the need for health care coverage and resources for the uninsured. The information posted will be in both English and Spanish. The bulletin board is located in the main waiting area of the health center on George Street.

Plainfield Health Center, 1700-58 Myrtle Avenue, Plainfield, New Jersey 07063

The Plainfield Health Center will be holding an event all week entitled "Health Insurance Check-up Week." Each HMO will be available to offer information about their products as well as enrollment. Flyers will be distributed throughout the area to attract new people to the center. The flyer will also speak to those who have no insurance and will encourage them to visit the center for information.

CONTACT: Leslie A. Morris, Director of Community Relations, New Jersey Primary Care Association, +1-609-275-8886.

New Jersey Primary Care Association

CONTACT: Leslie A. Morris, Director of Community Relations, New JerseyPrimary Care Association, +1-609-275-8886

Web site: http://www.njpca.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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