Ohio Hotline To Offer Uninsured Information about Public Coverage
The Columbus Medical Association Foundation and the Osteopathic Heritage Foundations are launching InsuranceLink, a hotline for central Ohio residents that offers information about free or low-cost health insurance, the Columbus Dispatch reports. InsuranceLink is part of Access HealthColumbus, the foundations' new $5 million "community initiative." The initiative follows a 1998 foundations-commissioned study on the "needs of the uninsured" in Franklin County that found 12.7% of the county's population lacked health insurance. Of those uninsured, 56% had been without coverage for at least three years and 17% were children. Phillip Cass, CEO of the Columbus Medical Association Foundation, said that determining availability of and eligibility for coverage options can be "pretty confusing." He added, "Having information like how to apply for Medicaid and Healthy Start [the state's Medicaid program] readily available will remove one of those barriers" (Bailey, Columbus Dispatch, 9/23).
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