Access Health NYC: Lessons Learned from a City-Wide Health Consumer/Patient Outreach & Education Advocacy Campaign

Background:  By February 2015, New York enrolled 2 million people through its marketplace. But many communities have not benefited from health care reform because of confusion regarding eligibilities and options. Some immigrants were specifically excluded from provisions in the Affordable Care Act on the federal level, but are not aware that they are eligible for services in New York.

Methods: To reach people not yet connected to care, a city-funded program is needed to engage underserved communities, including low-income people, immigrants, communities of color, women and children, LGBT individuals, and people living with disabilities and chronic illness. The key to successful linking of underserved individuals to care are trusted, culturally- and language competent community-based organizations (CBOs). In 2014, the People’s Budget Coalition for Public Health (PBC) mobilized over 60 partners to push for Access Health NYC – city funding initiative to support CBOs to complement and facilitate the work of navigators by connecting hard-to-reach, uninsured populations to enrollers and existing sources of care like the public hospital system, federally qualified health centers, and by educating consumers on financial assistance and patient protections/rights.

Results:  PBC leveraged partnerships with elected officials, ethnic media, CBOs, healthcare providers, and labor organizations and held press conferences, hearings, letter writing, informational sessions, and storybanking. Lessons learned from the campaign will be discussed and presented with policy implications.  

Conclusions:  Supporting the capacity of CBOs is a critical component of the successful implementation of the ACA, meeting the unmet needs of the remaining uninsured, and promoting their rights as health consumers and patients.