Federal Grant Expands Indigent Services in Indiana

Marion County, Ind., where Indianapolis is located, has received a $997,753 federal grant to "more than double" the number of clinics that treat the indigent, the Indianapolis Star reports. The grant will also be used to create a "standard co-pay system" for the indigent, "streamline access" to prescription drugs and "expand the medical record system" to the new providers. The clinics will take part in the Wishard Advantage program, a managed care system for the uninsured. Wishard Advantage is not insurance, but it does give "access cards" to the poor to use at "certain clinics." The program offers care to those at or below 200% of the poverty level and provides emergency services, X-rays and medical supplies. Doug Elwell, president of the Health and Hospital Corp., a city agency that helps fund Wishard Advantage, said, "Patients will have more choices and more places to go to receive health care" (Fritze, Indianapolis Star, 5/23).