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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Michelle L. Niescierenko, MD (05/2006)¹, Chester H. Fox, MD¹, and Renee Cadzow, MA². (1) Family Medicine, University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, 36 Queensberry St., Boston, MA 02215, 617-990-4289, michelleln@gmail.com, (2) Family Medicine Research Group, University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, 380 MFAC 462 Grider St., Buffalo, NY 14215

Context: There are 44 million uninsured Americans. Lack of insurance creates a major barrier for the poor and near poor to get adequate medical attention. A portion of these are eligible for insurance and either do not know they are eligible or have difficulty navigating the application process. Objective: To evaluate the success of University at Buffalo medical students at a free clinic in helping patients enroll in government sponsored insurance plans. Design: Observational study. Setting: The Lighthouse Free Medical Clinic - a student run free clinic operating in an urban minority Buffalo NY neighborhood. Patients: 579 inner-city, low socioeconomic status patients less than age 65. Intervention: All patients are screened, and those eligible are encouraged and assisted in completing insurance applications.Outcome Measures: Primary outcome is the percentage of patients who completed the application process. Results: 579 patients were seen from October 2003 through October 2004; 319 (55%) were uninsured. 59 (26%) of those uninsured were found to be eligible for insurance. 57 applications were initiated and twenty three (40%) were completed and accepted. Conclusions: There are a significant number of people using the free clinic who are eligible for insurance. The number one reason adults were ineligible was household income exceeded the state limit. Success of this project provides support for the use of student volunteers to assist in insurance application completion in community settings.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the magnitude of the problem of being uninsured in America.
• Describe the difficulty in qualifying and obtaining health insurance through free federally funded programs.
• Discuss or Apply this program for improving insurance enrollment in your own community or institution

Keywords: Insurance-Related Barriers,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered

Handout (.ppt format, 1132.5 kb)