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Affinity launches initiative to address needs of uninsured

Cover the Uninsured Week is April 27 to May 3

04 / 09 / 2008

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MENASHA, Wis. – Today 47 million Americans, including more than 9 million children, are living without health care coverage. Overwhelmingly, the uninsured live in working families but either are not offered health insurance or cannot afford offered plans. In 2005, more than eight in 10 uninsured individuals came from working families.

Affinity Health System is taking positive steps to help families without adequate insurance coverage find programs and coverage. During Cover the Uninsured Week, Affinity will launch a program that provides registration sites at local hospitals to assist individuals and families to sign up for appropriate state-funded programs.

Volunteers from Affinity Health System facilities will staff the registration sites and assist individuals and families with public assistance program sign-ups. Representatives from Human Services in Calumet, Outagamie and Winnebago counties are partnering with Affinity for this event and will also have staff on site to assist with enrolling individuals and answering questions.

On-site enrollment opportunities for state-funded assistance programs such as BadgerCare Plus, which is primarily for children and pregnant women, FoodShare and other state-funded programs will be provided during this time.

Uninsured individuals will be able to sign up for these assistance programs from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the following locations:

• Calumet Medical Center, 614 Memorial Drive, Chilton, on April 28
• Mercy Medical Center, 500 S. Oakwood Road, Oshkosh, on April 29
• St. Elizabeth Hospital, 1506 S. Oneida St., Appleton, on April 30.

Individuals are encouraged to schedule an appointment by contacting Affinity NurseDirect at

(800) 362-9900.

“This effort is consistent with Affinity’s mission to further the healing ministry of Christ by providing services that promote the health and well being of the communities we serve, especially the poor,” said Carrie Hankes, Affinity vice president of Mission and Learning Services. “We know that this effort will not solve the problem of the uninsured, but we hope it is a positive first step to help local people who don’t have insurance coverage.”

People interested in signing up for insurance during these times should bring the following with them:

• Full names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers for those applying for benefits.
• Proof of citizenship and identification, including passports, certificates of citizenship, naturalization papers, driver’s licenses, school IDs, military ID cards, birth certificates, military records or hospital records of birth.
• Pay stubs for people in the home who are working, including the employer’s name and address.
• Check stubs or award letters for other types of income, such as worker’s compensation, disability payments, pensions and child support payments from other states.
• Health insurance policy information for anyone currently covered by insurance.
• Information about Medicare benefits that anyone in the home receives.
• Information about expenses, such as rent, mortgage and property taxes; homeowner’s and/or renter’s insurance; utilities such as heat, electricity, gas, phone, water, sewer and trash removal; day care and other care giving costs; medical costs.
• Information about assets, such as checking and savings accounts, stocks or bonds, vehicles, homes or other real estate and life insurance policies.

The sixth annual Cover the Uninsured Week, April 27 through May 3, is an opportunity to raise awareness of the 47 million Americans, including 9 million children, who are living without health care coverage.

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For the Editor:
Affinity Health System, a Catholic mission-oriented regional health care network, is a partnership of Ministry Health Care and Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare. Affinity Health System is the Fox Valley’s third largest employer, according to the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and is ranked 24 among the top 100 integrated health care networks nationwide (Verispan 2008). Both St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton and Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh rank among the top 1 percent among hospitals nationwide in terms of quality and efficiency, as determined by the 2007 Premier | CareScience Select practice National Quality Award. Network Health Plan has achieved Excellent accreditation status from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), the highest possible level. It is ranked 37th among the 250 rated health plans in the nation in terms of customer satisfaction and clinical performance, according to the U.S. News and World Report/NCQA Best Health Plans in America listing. Members of Affinity include Mercy Medical Center and Mercy Health Foundation, Oshkosh; St. Elizabeth Hospital and the St. Elizabeth Hospital Community Foundation, Appleton; Affinity Medical Group, a regional network of 23 family practice and specialty clinics in 13 communities; Calumet Medical Center, Chilton; Network Health Plan, Menasha; and Affinity Occupational Health.