ACCESS TO CARE

• Ingham Community Voices helped develop the widely-acclaimed Ingham Health Plan (IHP), a benefit plan for low-income uninsured people who are not eligible for other coverage programs. Over half of the uninsured people in Ingham County--15,325 people--are covered by the plan.  IHP provides primary and specialty care, prescription drugs, and other services for uninsured people earning less than 250 percent of the federal poverty level.

• Ingham Health Plan launched the Capital Area Prescription Program (CAPP), which enrolls people aged 65 years or older who do not have a prescription drug benefit.  The program provides discounted prescription drugs to participants from Ingham and two nearby counties.   This prescription program is being replicated in 17 Michigan counties. CAPP staff have been trained to also facilitate enrollment in the IHP.

MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE

• Action Plan for Improvement.  The community identified the need for a plan to organize and coordinate political and community leadership around strategies to increase access to mental health and substance abuse services.  The process of engagement and mobilization around issues of substance abuse and treatment resulted in the development of an Action Plan for Improvement.  Working with key Community Voices partners, the substance abuse dialogue process began in November, 2001.  Results of these dialogues were used to prepare recommendations, which were then translated into a region-wide blueprint for change which was released in October 2002.  Lead entities and workgroups in every county are committed to the plan and are beginning the work of implementation.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

•  In an effort to address barriers that prevented the uninsured in Ingham County from enrolling in the Ingham Health Plan, the Grass Roots Outreach Project (GROP) was established to employ community outreach workers to enroll hard to reach uninsured members of the community into the IHP.  Over the course of this outreach project, an additional 2,364 people enrolled in IHP.

ORAL HEALTH

• A focus on oral health has led to the development of dental care services for more than 3,000 adults and children annually. The Healthy Smiles Dental Clinic serves children on Medicaid.  In 2002, a total of 1,956 children were seen for a total of 4,306 visits.  Children needing extensive dental work are treated in the Ingham Regional Medical Center.    Oral health needs of adults in the community are addressed at the Cedar Street Dental Clinic at the Ingham County Health Department.  In the year 2002, a total of 1,364 adults were seen for a total of 4,386 visits, the vast majority of which were made by adults who had no insurance.