Pediatric patient, Wesley, visits Laura Gariepy, FNP, for an annual check-up.
Patient Navigators team connects those in need with insurance options.
CHP’s promise to provide quality care to those who need it involves not only providing them with health services but also guaranteeing that insurance coverage or payment aren’t barriers to accessing care. Beginning in 2022, CHP received grant funding from the Massachusetts Health Connector Navigator Grant program to partially cover the cost of the organization’s team of Certified Application Counselors—known at CHP as Patient Navigators.
The team works across the county, assisting hundreds of Berkshire County residents who are uninsured or underinsured, providing guid-ance on the Massachusetts Health Connector—the state’s agency that connects residents without health coverage to available plans based on income level. Patient Navigator services are available to any resident of the Berkshires who needs assistance. The program is designed to help the most vulnerable Berkshire populations—uninsured residents, immigrants, and families who earn below the Federal Poverty Level. CHP’s Patient Navigators have found that their services are particularly valuable to those in the farming and landscaping workforce who do not speak English as a first language. These workers are the backbone of the Berkshires’ seasonal tourism.
The bilingual skills of the Patient Navigators are an immense asset to this program. Lead Navigator William Cruz explains that his team is “responsible for assisting uninsured people in completing an application, selecting a health plan and answering questions about health insurance, Open Enrollment, and renewing coverage.”
As part of the grant program, CHP’s Patient Navigators also do outreach to promote their services in the community. Mr. Cruz explained that “the immigrant communities in our county are well organized and gather at multicultural events and churches. Connecting with this important segment of our CHP patients has been very successful and very effective.”
Additional outreach locations have included food pantries family centers, and community colleges, as well as presentations at community meetings, tables at local health fairs, announcements on radio stations, and ads in widely distributed Berkshire newspapers. Local partnerships have been crucial to connecting the community to our Patient Navigators.
Thanks to the success of the Patient Navigator program and CHP’s ability to demonstrate its success in reducing inequities in insurance coverage, CHP has continued to secure grant funding from the state, allowing the team’s work to expand its reach and impact.
Our team of navigators is available at [email protected] or by calling 413.854.2816. We encourage anyone looking for assistance with insurance enrollment and financial options to contact us. You can also click here for more information.
1 in 3 CHP patients are on public health insurance;
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