Providing access to health and dental care to uninsured children through a public-private partnership

Sandra Stiner Lowe, MA¹, Theresa Benincasa, PhD¹, Andrea Lomrantz, MA¹, and Ingrid Parris-Hicklin, CPM². (1) Fairfax County Office of Partnerships, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Suite 432, Fairfax, VA 22035, (2) Office of Partnerships, 12000 Government Center Pkwy, Suite 432, Fairfax, VA 22035, 703-324-5181, ingrid.parrishicklin@fairfaxcounty.gov

Approximately one-fifth of the nation’s 43.6 million uninsured are children. In recent months, numerous states have cut funding to critical children’s health insurance programs. As pressure to find solutions to this health care crisis mounts, a unique public-private partnership in Fairfax County, Virginia has been responding effectively to this need for close to two decades. The Medical Care for Children Partnership (MCCP) provides access to health and dental care for children from families with incomes at or below 250% of poverty. These families earn too much to qualify for existing government plans, but do not have access or cannot afford the premiums of dependent coverage. This presentation will describe the factors that make this partnership successful, including:

-recruiting a provider network to provide health and dental care at significantly lower rates than commercial insurance;

-establishing a limited role for government in providing administrative overhead;

-creating an independent, nonprofit mechanism to raise charitable dollars;

-developing "buy-in" from citizens, health and business community that translates into fiscal and institutional sustainability.

While the MCCP has been recognized for its leadership in government innovation, broader dissemination about the partnership has been limited. The purpose of this presentation is share key elements of the MCCP model with interested public health professionals for potential replication elsewhere. A summative evaluation of data will describe the children's utilization of health care and case management services and demonstrate MCCP's commitment to providing quality health care.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to

1)identify the key organizational components of a successful public-private partnership that can increase access to health care for the uninsured and; 2)articulate strategies for leveraging local resources to support a public-private partnership in their own communities.

Keywords: Access to Health Care, Public/Private Partnerships

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation

Giving Our Children a Healthy Start

The 132nd Annual Meeting (November 6-10, 2004) of APHA