First Posted: 4/2/2015
LIMA — The emphasis on preventable health care is not just a matter of coverage and accessibility, but its a mentality, a cultural change.
“It’s starting to change the landscape,” said Ronda Lehman, the chief operating officer for St. Rita Medical Center’s Professional Services.
Kha Tran, a physician at Lima Memorial Medical System, said the industry’s changes are evident locally and across the country.
“Hospitals that have the resources are rebranding themselves as healthcare systems or medical centers,” he said. “This is purposeful to convey that the care of a community’s health is not limited to when they are very ill but also when they are well and to help keep them well through preventative care and healthy living.”
With the expansion of Medicaid insurance and extended eligibility to qualify, the Northwest Ohio Coalition for Health Transformation estimated more than 450,000 people who were newly eligible for Medicaid insurance enrolled in the state of Ohio. Of the population of those newly enrolled with health coverage, more than 54,000 people were individuals from the northwest region of Ohio.
Though its too early to determine the exact number of those newly enrolled and its impacts, the most recent Small Area Health Insurance report from the United States Census Bureau in 2013 indicated about 10,000 people, almost 13 percent of the population, were uninsured. More than 73,000, about 87 percent, did have insurance in Allen County.
In Ohio, more than 1 million people, or 13 percent of the population, were uninsured at the time. On the other hand, more than 8 million, or 80 percent of people, did have health insurance.
The challenge now, Lehman said, is educating people on the qualifications for health coverage, what services are available with insurance, what preventative treatment is and how to maintain coverage.
“It’s early in the process and its important to create opportunities for folks to figure out what’s included,” she said.
For example, the Legal Aid of Western Ohio Inc. estimated about 65,000 people in Ohio enrolled in Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act expansion in 2014 could’ve lost their coverage if they neglected, did not receive or did not respond to requests for information for renewal.
In January, the Ohio Department of Medicaid sent new beneficiaries packets to complete to qualify for renewal in coverage for the coming year. If not received or returned by its deadline at the end of February, the department of Medicaid automatically terminated benefits.
To help people understand how to qualify, enroll and use their heath insurance, St. Rita’s has offered a number of opportunities and has started a campaign to reach out to the community serving as a reminder for health care, coverage and preventative services. The center also offers services to help advise patients financially, making them fully aware of their health coverage options.
“It’s a huge benefit for them and for us,” Lehman said. “It benefits everyone.”
In some cases, Lehman said its information people take for granted — especially if they don’t take advantage of health coverage until there’s a problem.
“It’s like telling someone who just had a heart attack they shouldn’t have been smoking,” she said.
On the other hand, she said, if people get information along the way, it contributes to a healthier and better quality of life in the long run.
For now, its difficult to identify any solid tends or links in the affects of the Medicaid expansion, but doctors including Lehman are noticing a difference in the number of old and new patients coming in for routine wellness checks and an increase in patients covered with Medicaid insurance.
Mary Kay Verhoff, director of St. Rita’s Women’s Wellness Center, said since the beginning of 2014 the center hasn’t seen as many patients in need of its three available grants covering care costs for the uninsured. The number of general mammogram screens have also increased by almost 3 percent from 2013 to 2014, which is huge since growth is usually around .5 or 1 percent from year to year, Verhoff said.
In the first quarter of 2015, which spans from January until the end of March, the number of mammograms is up 14 percent since the same time last year.
“We’re seeing a lot of patients that many not have had one before or may not have had a mammogram for a long time,” Verhoff said.
The raw numbers could serve as a signal that a renewed focus on prevention and a more open dialogue about coverage between patients and providers is successfully causing a shift in the idea of getting care before there’s a problem.
“The goal is to support their health needs whatever that may be,” Verhoff said. “For some its going to be a change in mindset … instead of waiting for something to break, and that doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a culture change.”
Still, Verhoff is hopeful.
“I think when we get a couple more years under our belt, we’re going to be able to look … and see more people are being diagnosed in early stages — and that’s when we’re going to be excited about it,” she said.
