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$1 Million Available to Help Michigan's Uninsured Receive Care
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The following announcement was issued by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation.
DETROIT, Jan. 9, 2009 - With more and more Michigan residents losing employer-sponsored health coverage, the potential is ripe for the state’s uninsured population to increase. To ease the burden, the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation is offering up to $1 million in matching funds for projects that improve health care access for poor and uninsured Michiganders.
“Fundable projects for the uninsured include creative and novel programs that expand the current care system or increase coverage,” Dr. Ira Strumwasser, executive director and CEO of the BCBSM Foundation, said. “Our goal is to help develop and validate new ways of improving access to care for the poor and uninsured population in Michigan.”
The matching funds are available through the BCBSM Foundation’s Community Health Matching Program: Access to Care for the Uninsured initiative. The program encourages community based nonprofit health care organizations to participate in developing and testing new approaches to increase access to care.
As of December 2008, 11 percent of Michigan residents are uninsured according to America’s Health RankingsTM. Many of those are poor, working women and children. The BCBSM Foundation helps tackle that problem with efforts like the Community Health Matching Program.
For more information on the Community Health Matching Program: Access to Care for the Uninsured program, please contact the BCBSM Foundation or visit BCBSM.com/foundation. Proposals must include a rigorous evaluation, preferably an independent or university based evaluation. Community organizations may partner with health care organizations, research or governmental agencies to design and test the innovation in their community.
The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation is dedicated to improving the health of Michigan residents by supporting health care research and innovative health programs. The foundation’s grant programs are conducted in Michigan by Michigan-based researchers and nonprofit community health care organizations.
Over the past 25 years, the BCBSM Foundation has contributed approximately $20 million in grants for research and $5 million for community health programs. This funding has resulted in enhancements to quality, patient safety and access to care for the people of Michigan. The foundation also supports efforts to control the rising costs of health care through research, demonstration and evaluation projects.
The BCBSM Foundation is the philanthropic affiliate of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. The foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more information, visit bcbsm.com/foundation.
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