Insure the Uninsured Project helps make critical connections
When policy makers, health plans, and community-based organizations talk to each other, good things happen.
From unwinding the public health emergency (PHE) to expanding eligibility for coverage, the state of California leads the way when it comes to public health policy. And for many of its advancements, Insure the Uninsured Project (ITUP) has been there to help guide policy, connecting leaders from government, health plans, and local communities to effect real change within the state.
During a recent episode of our LinkedIn Live series, Under the Same Sky, our Founder and CEO, Abner Mason, was joined by Executive Director of ITUP, Katie Heidorn, to talk about the work her organization is doing in the state of California and how that work can be duplicated in other states across the country. View the recording.
The secret to their success? Conversations.
Each year, ITUP brings together healthcare stakeholders to facilitate connections and conversations that help expand healthcare access for everyone. They do this through their annual state conference, as well as 10 regional micro-listening sessions across the state. The sessions bring together policy makers, health plans, and community-based organizations (CBOs) to talk about whatever is top of mind as it relates to healthcare.
Through these sessions, they have found that while the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) in California already has a plan and toolkit prepared to unwind the PHE, many CBOs weren’t aware of them. As trusted messengers who work within the communities, sharing this information has enabled the CBOs to better prepare members for the end of the PHE.
Other sessions revealed that part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act designated healthcare institutions, schools, and libraries as anchor institutions for broadband. This means that these facilities can act as a connection to the internet backbone and help get communities connected to broadband where there currently is none. This has major implications in the advancement towards health equity.
It’s clear that when policy makers, health plans, and community-based organizations talk to each other, good things happen.
“Advancing health equity takes all of us collectively working together. We’re happy to talk and offer any advice we can and would love to learn from others, too.”
Learn more about the incredible work ITUP is doing here.