Oct. 17, 2007
Children win with private sector contribution of $3 million for health care
King County 's children can look forward to a healthier future, thanks to a record $3 million in contributions from 19 community organizations to the King County Children's Health Initiative. Combined with a $3 million commitment of support from King County for outreach activities, the $6 million in total funding will get more low-income children enrolled in insurance and linked to providers for integrated health and oral care.
"While they fight over our children in the other Washington, we in King County have won victories for them," said King County Executive Ron Sims. "Our children will get quality health and dental care because of an extraordinary public-private partnership that is stepping up to do right thing for our newest generation."
"This is an excellent example of the collaborative efforts of the King County Council, the King County Executive, and the private sector," said King County Council Chair Larry Gossett. "Through our collective work and the Executive's leadership, we have ensured health care for the most vulnerable children in the county."
Today's announcement includes an additional $1 million in contributions from 17 new founding funders in this Children's Health Partnership. This support follows the original challenge grant of $1 million by Group Health Cooperative in early 2007, followed in the spring with a $1 million contribution from the Washington Dental Service. Acceptance of these contributions is subject to approval by the King County Council.
"On behalf of the hospitals that have come together to support this wonderful effort, we want to see our children attached to medical and dental homes, receiving preventive care at the right times and not showing up in our emergency rooms because they have no coverage, no regular care and no regular provider. Together, we can do this," said Tom Hansen, MD, Chief Executive Officer of Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center.
In addition to Children’s Hospital, the new founding funders include Community Health Plan, Evergreen Healthcare, First Choice Health, Harborview Medical Center, Molina Healthcare of Washington, Northwest Hospital & Medical Center, OneHealthPort, Providence Health & Services, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Swedish Medical Center, United Way of King County, University of Washington Medical Center, Valley Medical Center, Virginia Mason Medical Center, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the Washington State Hospital Association.
This year, the Children's Health Initiative is on track for enrolling more than 1,000 children into public health insurance programs by the end of 2007, and is planning to enroll another 3,000 children in 2008. Support from the private sector will complement the county's contribution to finding, enrolling and linking eligible children to health care homes by funding innovative pilot approaches to improve children's health.
"What I really like about this effort is that it's about taking action and delivering results, said Jim Dwyer, CEO of Washington Dental Service. "I am so pleased to join the mouth to the body in this effort and to say that we are on track to start providing oral health coverage to uninsured kids in families with incomes too high for Medicaid and too low for current offerings."
These new contributions to the Children's Health Initiative will fund pilot activities that dovetail with Washington state's commitments to improve care to children, including the following:
Online enrollment: This project is developing a more seamless connection for families to get information, enroll for coverage and even select their health plan, physician and dentist.
Oral health: An oral health demonstration project funded by Washington Dental Service (WDS) will improve the delivery of oral health services to children in families between 250 percent and 300 percent of the federal poverty level in advance of the 2009 target date set by the State.
Mental health: A behavioral health pilot project will explore the effectiveness of behavioral health specialists in primary care settings to improve early identification and treatment of maternal depression and childhood behavioral and mental health issues.
In May 2007, the King County Council approved the Children's Health Initiative and expressed its intention to dedicate $1 million yearly for outreach and linkage to health care during 2007, 2008, and 2009. $1 million in proposed funding for 2008 is included in the Executive's proposed 2008 King County Budget.