SNOW HILL – A $75,000 federal grant is expected to allow the Worcester County Health Department to begin a grassroots effort to improve healthcare coverage on the Lower Shore.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded the Worcester County Health Department a three-year, $75,000 grant to share information about health coverage and improve health literacy among farmers, watermen and small business owners in Worcester, Wicomico and Somerset counties.
“We are thrilled that our project has been selected,” Worcester County Health Officer Debbie Goeller said. “The award gives us the support we need to roll up our sleeves and implement a targeted campaign to improve access to and information about health care coverage among farmers, watermen and small businesses in Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties.”
The grant will enhance the health department’s existing project, the Lower Shore Health Insurance Assistance Program. Kat Gunby, coordinator of that program, says the grant will enable the health department to make sure rural residents have the healthcare and insurance coverage they need.
“Those three industries are the lifeblood of the lower Eastern Shore,” she said. “If we could reach people in those sectors we’d be providing a real service.”
Gunby said that research has shown that though individuals in those professions are likely to be eligible for coverage, they often lack the resources and information needed to apply. People in those industries are also frequently self-insured and may be paying a higher cost than they need to. Health department officials hope to make sure watermen, farmers and small business owners have the insurance coverage they need by making use of the new plans available.
“With the Affordable Care Act they have a lot more options,” Gunby said. “They may have been underinsured with high cost plans.”
Instead of the health department simply distributing information, Gunby says she’s working with other area groups to increase health literacy.
“Instead of going out randomly to talk with people we have strategic partnerships,” she said. “We’ve built a lot of relationships in the community.”
The Lower Shore Health Insurance Assistance Program has started using those relationships to find people who may need insurance help. The idea is to connect those seeking help with guidance in their own communities.
“We’re going to where they’re already going to be,” Gunby said.
She said the outreach would also provide health officials with information on populations for which they had little data.
“I’d like to see our work become a model for rural areas,” she said. “I think we’re going to learn a lot.”
Gunby says the health department has already started its efforts to provide insurance help, as open enrollment for plans offered through the Maryland Health Connection will begin this fall on Nov. 1. For more information on the Lower Shore Health Insurance Assistance Program call 855-445-5540 or go to lowershorehealth.org.