Grant Partners

Community Action Committee of Cape Cod & Islands (CACCI), which serves a community with a limited number of insurance plans and available providers, will provide education and ongoing support to consumers as they navigate the health care system and access services. CACCI works with organizations across the region to ensure that consumers enroll in and maintain coverage through advertising, cultural and ethnic events, health and human service providers, businesses, and outreach to specific populations, including immigrant communities. CACCI offers extended hours and tools in languages other than English to increase knowledge and to empower consumers to proactively maintain health care coverage and access the care they need. Through 2021, specific grant plans may be adjusted to meet the current health and safety guidelines to protect the wellbeing of clients and staff.

Health Law Advocates (HLA) will work to advocate for public policy reforms that help consumers access necessary health care. Key focus areas in the coming year include: continuing to lead the effort to improve access to mental health services for children through the continued expansion of the Mental Health Advocacy Program for Kids, which provides free legal assistance to help low-income, high-risk youth to overcome barriers to mental health services; closing the gap in coverage for in-home health services, such as skilled nursing and non-emergency transportation that harms many immigrants enrolled in MassHealth Family Assistance; and building on the progress made reducing MassHealth’s longstanding difficulty assigning immigrants to the maximum benefits for which they are eligible.  Additionally, HLA will continue to improve access to gender-affirming health care for low-income transgender consumers.

Boston Public Health Commission will strengthen and grow its impact and presence in communities with the highest rates of uninsured by scaling up successful outreach and enrollment strategies, including flyering and one-on-one counseling, as well as its multilingual enrollment assistance in the office and the community. It will also expand hours, collaborate with local businesses, leverage radio and social media to promote its services, and share information about open enrollment and plan selection periods. Through 2021, specific grant plans may be adjusted to meet the current health and safety guidelines to protect the wellbeing of clients and staff.

Boston Public Health Commission will strengthen and grow its impact and presence in communities with the highest rates of uninsured by scaling up successful outreach and enrollment strategies, including flyering and one-on-one counseling, as well as its multilingual enrollment assistance in the office and the community. It will also expand hours, collaborate with local businesses, leverage radio and social media to promote its services, and share information about open enrollment and plan selection periods.

Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center will enhance partnerships with other community organizations in the region for outreach and enrollment services and it will increase visibility in the community where the most vulnerable clients are likely to congregate, including community centers, cultural events, and libraries. To better assist clients, the health center will implement a schedule to increase access to walk-in assistance. It will proactively provide clients with the tools they need to prevent lapses in coverage and will work with insurers to obtain lists of members who are up for renewal, supporting those patients in the re-determination process.

Metro Housing|Boston, in partnership with Boston Medical Center (BMC), is serving patient families who face imminent homelessness, eviction, foreclosure, or have an impending housing court date. Families referred by the hospital’s Pediatric Emergency Department, Obstetrics Clinic, Newborn Nursery, and the Domestic Violence Program are provided with complex stabilization services. In addition to supporting clients, the grant partners will develop infrastructure for sustainable and efficient data sharing across the two organizations.

Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program will bridge gaps in care for homeless immigrant and non-English speaking patients by enhancing and expanding outreach and health insurance enrollment services at key locations, including shelter sites, where it sees a large volume of patients with limited English language proficiency. It will also expand access to enrollment services at the new Oasis Clinic, a dedicated weekend clinic that incorporates a variety of services to meet the needs of immigrants and patients with limited English proficiency. At the clinic, it will inform patients about their health coverage, the requirements for retaining benefits, and provide advice for overcoming logistical barriers that homelessness brings in maintaining coverage. It will also include enrollment services on its outreach van in East Boston, which serves primarily immigrant and uninsured patients.

Family Health Center of Worcester will focus insurance outreach and enrollment efforts towards refugee, immigrant, and asylee populations through clinics and community events with an emphasis on dispelling misinformation, myths, and fears related to public charge. It will proactively outreach to patients who are newly uninsured as a result of a change in life circumstances and will hold new patient education sessions monthly in languages other than English. Family Health Center of Worcester will also conduct ongoing reviews of information collected from Health Insurance Literacy surveys and provide group learning opportunities for its navigators to identify and address themes and content for staff training. Through 2021, specific grant plans may be adjusted to meet the current health and safety guidelines to protect the wellbeing of clients, patients, and staff.

Ecu-Health Care will support clients in accessing and maintaining health insurance coverage through one-on-one education and outreach in partnership with local community organizations.  It will also participate in a variety of community events to build awareness of its services and to provide coverage information to consumers. It will disseminate information about coverage through social media, flyers, and brochures throughout the community, and will proactively outreach to uninsured Berkshire Medical Center patients to provide insurance enrollment support.

East Boston Neighborhood Health Center (EBNHC) serves one of the largest Latinx populations in the state and several of the communities it serves have among the highest rates of uninsurance. EBNHC will conduct outreach in partnership with local community organizations, proactively assist self-pay patients in applying for coverage, and promote enrollment services through social media and in clinical areas of the health center. It will also cross-train call center staff to provide appropriate health insurance information (pre-and-post enrollment) and support to patients. Through 2021, specific grant plans may be adjusted to meet the current health and safety guidelines to protect the wellbeing of clients, patients, and staff.

Health Care for All (HCFA) will continue to focus on advocating for and with consumers on issues related to health care access, quality, and cost.  It will convene a new online learning program called Health Justice Academy: Building Health Care Power in Our Communities. This unique training is designed to educate consumers and organizations and build support for important policy proposals during the pandemic and beyond. A key focus area for HCFA is working with immigrant communities and mixed-status households by partnering with community-based organizations and Spanish and Portuguese-language media outlets to spread the news that seeking COVID-19 testing and treatment will not be “counted” toward a public charge determination. HCFA will also advocate for legislation that will expand comprehensive MassHealth coverage to children who would currently be eligible for MassHealth except for their immigration status.

Project Bread, in partnership with the Family Health Center of Worcester and the Regional Environmental Council, is addressing food insecurity to increase the consumption of healthy foods among the patients of Family Health Center of Worcester. The partner organizations are formalizing a referral system for patients of the health center who screen positive for food insecurity to connect them to available resources in the community that will contribute to sustainable nutrition solutions. This includes its partner the Regional Environmental Council, which enables access to affordable, local produce through farmers markets and mobile markets. To support these activities, Project Bread is increasing its capacity by developing the infrastructure necessary for this cross-sectoral partnership to be sustained.

Brockton Neighborhood Health Center, which serves a community with one of the state’s highest number of uninsured residents, will partner with local organizations to expand its reach to specific populations, including immigrants, recently or chronically unemployed, residents recovering from substance use disorder, probationers and parolees. Through 2021, specific grant plans may be adjusted to meet the current health and safety guidelines to protect the wellbeing of clients, patients, and staff.

Mass Senior Action Council (MSAC) will collaborate with MLRI and HCFA to educate members about COVID-related changes within MassHealth to identify areas for long term change and identify opportunities to shape evolving telehealth policy. In addition, MSAC will advocate for further expansion of the Medicare Savings Programs and improve prescription drug cost affordability through legislative and administrative actions.

Community Action Committee of Cape Cod & Islands (CACCI), which serves a community with a limited number of insurance plans and available providers, will provide education and ongoing support to consumers as they navigate the health care system and access services. CACCI works with organizations across the region to ensure that consumers enroll in and maintain coverage through advertising, cultural and ethnic events, health and human service providers, businesses, and outreach to specific populations, including immigrant communities. CACCI offers extended hours and tools in languages other than English to increase knowledge and to empower consumers to proactively maintain health care coverage and access the care they need.