A Collaborative Effort to Address Insurance Issues with Underinsured Patients through Patient Navigation

A National Cancer Institute funded Patient Navigation program that spans four Western Pennsylvania hospitals was developed in 2005. The four hospitals include two rural freestanding cancer centers and two hospital-based urban cancer centers. The purpose of the program was to assist low income, minority cancer patients to overcome barriers that would keep them from receiving timely and quality cancer treatments. Since the program's initiation, three barriers have consistently been identified in all of the participating cancer centers. Transportation, prescription coverage and health insurance have been identified as highly requested and time consuming issues in all of the programs. Since the Patient Navigators were not specialists in dealing with insurance issues, a collaborative relationship was formed with the Pittsburgh advocacy organization, the Consumer Health Coalition. The Coalition is active in providing education to the Navigators in government-sponsored insurance programs. They also act as a resource to provide in-depth insurance counseling to patients whose insurance issues lie outside the realm of the Patient Navigators. In addition to assisting the Navigators, the Consumer Health Coalition advocates in the legislative arena for underinsured and uninsured patients. This close working relationship has closed the gap in health care disparities for underserved and uninsured patients in Western Pennsylvania.