Check out the CHAP Demonstration Project Evaluation Report. (Posted October 2012)
The number of Kent County children enrolled in Medicaid increases every year–it’s now about 40%. As that number grows, it becomes more and more difficult for low-income families to access primary healthcare. The Children’s Healthcare Access Program helps children get the care and support that they need to stay healthy.
The primary goal of the Children’s Healthcare Access Program is to improve health outcomes of children on Medicaid while making better use of existing resources and decreasing costs.
The Children’s Healthcare Access Program is a partnership involving Priority Health, Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, Cherry Street Health Services, private pediatric practices, numerous human service agencies, and private foundations. 15,000 children in Kent County are part of the program.
The Children’s Healthcare Access Program is making a difference by:
- Helping primary care practices improve their “medical homeness.”
- Creating more openings in pediatric practices for children with Medicaid.
- Working with partners to offer more evening hours and same-day appointments.
- Providing education and coordinating support services for families.
The early results are encouraging:
- Emergency department usage ↓14%
- Inpatient hospital admissions ↓12%
- Children with asthma action plan ↑29%
For more information about the Children’s Healthcare Access Program, contact Maureen Kirkwood, Director of Health Initiatives or Dr. Tom Peterson, Medical Director.
What is a medical home? It’s the one place families can take their children for all of their primary healthcare—regular checkups, immunizations, and treatment when they are sick.
The Children’s Healthcare Access Program was started in response to tremendous community needs. A study, led by Dr. Tom Peterson and published in the Journal of Pediatrics in January 2011, found children with Medicaid have poorer health outcomes:
- Significantly higher hospitalization rate
- More severe illnesses resulting in hospitalization
- Significantly higher rate of respiratory illnesses, such as asthma
- More visits to the emergency room
- Higher readmission rates for newborns after discharge from the hospital
The study estimates the cost savings statewide would be between $150 and $200 million a year if publicly insured children in Michigan had the same hospitalization rate as privately insured children.
Please click on the link to download “Insurance-Associated Disparities in Hospitalization Outcomes of Michigan Children”. (The Journal of Pediatrics, January 2011)
