title: Hampshire HealthConnect. A local effort increases access to health care for the uninsured.
abstract: In the absence of universal coverage, there is a need to develop solutions at a local and state level to the dramatic rise in the uninsured. This article summarizes a local countywide effort to address this issue in a rural area. Key ingredients for success include both hospital leadership (they have significant resources at their disposal), extensive community involvement (to maintain momentum for the program), and local physician leadership (physicians are, in essence, forgoing income in return for a formalization of who is eligible for the free care program).
authors.affiliation: Hamshire HealthConnect, Cooley Dickinson Hospital, Northampton, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bouvier
mesh_terms: D003256:Community Participation; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006764:Hospitals, Community / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D015271:Insurance Pools; D008404:Massachusetts; D017057:Medically Uninsured; D011203:Poverty; D014481:United States