UnitedHealthcare Donates $30,000 to Support Health and Wellness Programs in Missouri
May 10 2016 - 12:58PM
Business Wire
Two $15,000 grants to community-based
organizations helping low-income Missourians live healthier
lives
UnitedHealthcare has donated $30,000 to help two Missouri
organizations’ efforts to promote health literacy and support
transportation programming for low-income families.
Health Literacy Missouri (HLM) received a $15,000 grant
to support efforts to help Medicaid-eligible consumers in medically
underserved communities access and understand their health
benefits. The grant will enable HLM to host a series of focus
groups with Medicaid consumers, uninsured community members, and
health care professionals, providing an opportunity for HLM to
identify barriers to care and help improve health literacy by
addressing gaps in consumer knowledge about health care.
These focus groups will take place in southeastern Missouri – a
region in which more than 40 percent of the population live at or
below national poverty levels, and where health care access issues,
including health literacy, have been linked to health disparities.
This project will generate a deeper understanding of the barriers
to care in this underserved, rural region, with the ultimate goal
of improving consumer satisfaction and health outcomes.
“We are excited to partner with UnitedHealthcare on this
important project,” said Catina O'Leary, Ph.D., LMSW, HLM president
and CEO. “Interacting with Missourians in this way will give us a
much deeper understanding of the attitudes and feelings in
communities that affect health care access and use.”
Missouri Rural Health Association (MRHA) received a
$15,000 grant for its HealthTran initiative to help address
transportation issues for Medicaid and Medicare dual-eligible plan
participants in rural south-central Missouri counties. The grant
will fund direct transportation support for approximately 100
people who are unable to access Missouri’s Non-Emergency Medical
Transportation (NEMT) program and do not have financial resources
for health-related transportation.
HealthTran’s trained Health-Transportation Coordinators identify
and electronically refer qualified patients to the transportation
provider that can best meet their needs. MRHA intends to improve
access to primary and preventive care, as well as reduce
unnecessary use of the emergency room.
“Transportation is more than getting a patient from one
destination to another; it is also about effective disease
management. If a patient can’t get to treatment, they can’t get
well,” said Doris Boeckman, MRHA Rides to Wellness director.
Missouri ranked 36th out of 50 states for overall health,
according to the 2015 America’s Health Rankings® report, which also
noted that Missouri was in the bottom half of the country on
measures including public health funding (46th), lack of health
insurance (29th) and disparity of health status by education level
(28th).
“We are grateful for the opportunity to provide additional
resources to organizations that help families live healthier lives
and that extend the reach of critical programs and services,
particularly for our state’s underserved populations,” said Yasmine
Winkler, central region CEO, UnitedHealthcare Community &
State.
UnitedHealthcare serves more than 1.3 million Missourians
enrolled in employer-sponsored, individual, Medicare and TRICARE
health plans with a network of 162 hospitals and nearly 26,000
physicians and other care providers statewide. UnitedHealth Group
and its companies employ more than 3,200 Missourians – including
nearly 1,800 employees hired since 2013.
About Health Literacy
MissouriHLM is a St. Louis-based nonprofit
communications firm that specializes in clear health
communications. Founded in 2009, HLM partners with health care
providers, advocates, and organizations that want people to feel
better, systems to work and flow better, and materials to make more
sense. By integrating evidence-based health literacy principles,
HLM develops customized communications, assessments, and education
that help its partner organizations best serve people with diverse
levels of health literacy. When health information and services are
more accessible, more people can make good health decisions every
day.
About Missouri Rural Health
AssociationMRHA members recognize the many challenges of
rural Missouri and are addressing concerns by gathering and sharing
relevant data to help make informed decisions and direct policy
changes, strengthen peer networks, and challenge public and private
funding sources to invest more in rural communities. MRHA serves as
the voice for rural health issues and in 2016 has identified
improved access to care through transportation its foremost
priority. To learn more, visit the website at www.morha.org.
About
UnitedHealthcareUnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping
people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health
care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and
sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company
offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for
individuals, employers, military service members, retirees and
their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and
contracts directly with 1 million physicians and care
professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities
nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and
well-being company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at
www.uhc.com or follow @myUHC on Twitter.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160510006612/en/
UnitedHealthcareJessica Kostner,
952-979-5869jessica_kostner@uhc.com
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