The Arkansas River Valley Rural Health Cooperative: building a three-pronged approach to improved health and health care.
This paper describes the Arkansas River Valley Rural Health Cooperative (ARVRHC), one of the Arkansas networks jump-started with support from the Southern Rural Access Program (SRAP). The initial goal of the network was to develop a subsidized health insurance program to provide affordable medical services for the uninsured population (23%) in the 3-county service area. When planning efforts called for the network to address broader needs, the ARVRHC crafted a more comprehensive 3-pronged program model consisting of 3 interrelated programs: (1) the Health Care Access Program (HCAP), (2) the Health Education and Disease Management Program (HE&DMP), and 3) the Information and Assistance Program (I&AP). The HCAP is designed to address the financial barriers to access through a community-based health plan. The HE&DMP focuses on improving the health of individuals through education, counseling, and preventive care. The I&AP links low-income families to existing public assistance programs (e.g., Medicaid) and social support services. The Prescription Drug Assistance Program is one of the I&AP programs that helps individuals without prescription coverage obtain drugs at no cost. A key lesson learned is the importance of combining technical assistance with funding. The ARVRHC has been successful in leveraging funding, having received over $1.7 million in grant funds since 1999. A critical challenge facing the network today is the need for ongoing subsidy funding. Proposed legislation for a federal demonstration of the HCAP and similar programs would enable full implementation and evaluation of this model.
Stewart
M Kathryn
MK
ACHI, 5800 West 10th St, Suite 410, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA. mkstewart@uams.edu
Redford
Robert
R
Poe
Kendall
K
Veach
Debbie
D
Hines
Rebecca
R
Beachler
Michael
M
D001131:Arkansas; D018672:Community Health Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019058:Community Networks / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D019468:Disease Management; D006266:Health Education; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007255:Information Services; D019458:Insurance Coverage / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D017057:Medically Uninsured; D017146:Models, Organizational; D011314:Preventive Health Services; D016730:Program Development; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*