Mikulski hearing focuses on Healthy Howard
'Lot to be learned' from county health care program
By Jennifer Broadwater
jbroadwater@patuxent.com
Posted 2/19/09
Sen. Barbara Mikulski is looking to a health care program in Howard County to potentially influence national reform.
Columbia was Mikulski’s first stop on an "innovation tour" aimed at highlighting initiatives she would consider promoting or incorporating on a national level as a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
At a field hearing today at Howard Community College’s Gateway campus in Columbia, Mikulski, a Democrat, heard testimony from county residents and officials regarding the Healthy Howard Access Plan, believed by local officials to be the first of its kind in the country.
Congress is expected to take major steps toward reforming the nation’s health care system by the end of year, Mikulski said, as the issue is one of President Barack Obama’s top priorities.
She said her goal is a system with universal access, affordability and efficiency.
“There’s a lot to be learned here,” she said of Howard’s program. “This is no small undertaking.”
Launched in October 2008, the Healthy Howard Access Plan is a nonprofit program that provides medical services and health counseling to county residents who lack health insurance. Participants pay a monthly fee.
The program has enrolled 109 people and about 140 are in the process of enrolling. In addition, program administrators have referred roughly 1,200 people to other health care programs for which they were eligible.
During today's hearing, Hanover resident Van Wensil told Mikulski that being accepted in the Healthy Howard program felt like winning the lottery.
Wensil said she had been rejected by multiple insurance companies due to preexisting health conditions and had gone several years without insurance.
“I feel lighter. I literally don’t feel the weight of worry that I felt before,” she said.
Ellicott City resident and single mother Frances Tucci-Farley emphasized the peace of mind the program provided her after she spent seven months unsuccessfully trying to get help through the Department of Social Services.
After being laid off in June, and still suffering from injuries from an auto collision a few years ago, Tucci-Farley said she needed programs to meet her needs and those of her kindergarten-aged son.
County Executive Kenneth Ulman told Mikulski that the program’s next challenge is to reach out to more eligible residents.
“There are 1,000 more people like (Wensil and Tucci-Farley) who don’t know we exist,” he said.
Mikulski also was keen on the broader application of the technology used by Healthy Howard to screen applicants and match them with health programs and other government services.
Howard’s Health-e-Link technology is produced by the California-based Center to Promote HealthCare Access. The director of the center, Claudia Page, said similar technology is used in California, Arizona and Indiana and can be configured for a variety of public assistance programs like Medicaid and food stamps.
As a former social worker familiar with people’s frustration accessing assistance programs, Mikulski said it was refreshing to hear both Wensil and Tucci-Farley describe their experiences applying for aid through Healthy Howard as smooth and simple.
The Healthy Howard program has been criticized by those who question whether it is needed, since much of its early efforts have been spent on redirecting applicants to existing state and federal assistance programs.
Columbia was Mikulski’s first stop on an "innovation tour" aimed at highlighting initiatives she would consider promoting or incorporating on a national level as a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
At a field hearing today at Howard Community College’s Gateway campus in Columbia, Mikulski, a Democrat, heard testimony from county residents and officials regarding the Healthy Howard Access Plan, believed by local officials to be the first of its kind in the country.
Congress is expected to take major steps toward reforming the nation’s health care system by the end of year, Mikulski said, as the issue is one of President Barack Obama’s top priorities.
She said her goal is a system with universal access, affordability and efficiency.
“There’s a lot to be learned here,” she said of Howard’s program. “This is no small undertaking.”
Launched in October 2008, the Healthy Howard Access Plan is a nonprofit program that provides medical services and health counseling to county residents who lack health insurance. Participants pay a monthly fee.
The program has enrolled 109 people and about 140 are in the process of enrolling. In addition, program administrators have referred roughly 1,200 people to other health care programs for which they were eligible.
During today's hearing, Hanover resident Van Wensil told Mikulski that being accepted in the Healthy Howard program felt like winning the lottery.
Wensil said she had been rejected by multiple insurance companies due to preexisting health conditions and had gone several years without insurance.
“I feel lighter. I literally don’t feel the weight of worry that I felt before,” she said.
Ellicott City resident and single mother Frances Tucci-Farley emphasized the peace of mind the program provided her after she spent seven months unsuccessfully trying to get help through the Department of Social Services.
After being laid off in June, and still suffering from injuries from an auto collision a few years ago, Tucci-Farley said she needed programs to meet her needs and those of her kindergarten-aged son.
County Executive Kenneth Ulman told Mikulski that the program’s next challenge is to reach out to more eligible residents.
“There are 1,000 more people like (Wensil and Tucci-Farley) who don’t know we exist,” he said.
Mikulski also was keen on the broader application of the technology used by Healthy Howard to screen applicants and match them with health programs and other government services.
Howard’s Health-e-Link technology is produced by the California-based Center to Promote HealthCare Access. The director of the center, Claudia Page, said similar technology is used in California, Arizona and Indiana and can be configured for a variety of public assistance programs like Medicaid and food stamps.
As a former social worker familiar with people’s frustration accessing assistance programs, Mikulski said it was refreshing to hear both Wensil and Tucci-Farley describe their experiences applying for aid through Healthy Howard as smooth and simple.
The Healthy Howard program has been criticized by those who question whether it is needed, since much of its early efforts have been spent on redirecting applicants to existing state and federal assistance programs.
user comments (1)
user beatendowntaxpayer says...
Did Babs mention that the Healthy Howard program is a complete failure and a collosal waste of taxpayer and non-profit's resources? She says it was "no small undertaking", well actually it was, "helping" about 100 families.
Posted 11:12 PM, 02.19.09
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