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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Janeene Freeman, MPA, Arfana Haidery, MPH, Priya Raghavan, and Liliana Vaamonde, JD. NYC Managed Care Consumer Program, Communtiy Service Society, 105 E. 22nd St, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10010, 212-614-5360, praghavan@cssny.org

Being healthy is a fundamental right for every human being. To be healthy, a person needs easy access to quality health care; in order to get this, one needs both health insurance and the means and knowledge to use it. The system is complicated to navigate and for communities who face the additional barriers of limited English proficiency or low literacy, it is even more difficult to get care. The New York City Managed Care Consumer Assistance Program (NYC MCCAP) facilitates this connection by empowering communities and consumers with knowledge to advocate for themselves.

NYC MCCAP teaches consumers how to use the health insurance system and access needed care; 86% of NYC MCCAP clients reported getting needed care as a result of NYC MCCAP. In addition, the program uses experiences from the community to provide a voice for underrepresented populations in the policy arena. The strength of NYC MCCAP is drawn from its decentralized network of 29 community-based organizations (CBOs); each chosen because of its ability to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services and information. The diversity of the network has allowed NYC MCCAP to help over 300,000 consumers since 1999 in 18 different languages.

This presentation will discuss the successes and challenge of using a decentralized model to reach the diverse communities of NYC. NYC MCCAP strives to ensure that the voices of our clients are heard whether through direct health care service or at the programmatic level to guarantee quality and equitable care.

Learning Objectives:

• To demonstrate the effectiveness of working with community partners to help reduce barriers and improve access to care for consumers.

Related Web page: www.nycmccap.org/

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation