Rural Project Examples: Health insurance
Other Project Examples
Scenic Bluffs Community Health Center Insurance Help TeamUpdated/reviewed October 2022
- Need: To help inform western Wisconsin residents about their health insurance options under the Affordable Care Act.
- Intervention: Certified application counselors provide assistance in outreach locations around the region.
- Results: In the past year, more than 1,000 people received guidance on health insurance through this program, with 253 individuals enrolling in health insurance.
Something to Smile About: Preventive Dental Care for Garrett CountyUpdated/reviewed July 2021
- Need: In rural Garrett County, Maryland, a 1998 community survey found that 41% of kindergarten students had untreated dental decay, and many dentists in the area were not willing to see patients with medical assistance or state health insurance plans.
- Intervention: In 1999, the Garrett County Health Department started the Something to Smile About program to improve access to dental care and help dentists negotiate higher reimbursement rates from managed care organizations.
- Results: The program established a community dental clinic, provided care to thousands of individuals, and negotiated 30% higher rates for dental service reimbursement.
Miles for Smiles Mobile Dental UnitUpdated/reviewed September 2020
- Need: Dental care access for children in low-income families living in a 7-county region of southwest Missouri.
- Intervention: A mobile dental unit was created to expand dental care access.
- Results: The Miles for Smiles mobile dental clinic provides comprehensive dental care to children throughout the 7-county region.
Cavity Free at ThreeUpdated/reviewed December 2019
- Need: In Colorado, 31% of children have experienced dental decay by the time they reach kindergarten. With several frontier and rural counties in Colorado considered dental deserts, options for oral healthcare are limited.
- Intervention: Cavity Free at Three (CF3) works to improve access to preventive oral health for pregnant women and young children. While CF3 is a statewide effort, 87% of the program's target counties are considered rural or frontier.
- Results: CF3 has trained over 5,000 medical and dental professionals in performing preventive dental health. The percentage of children who received oral healthcare from a medical or dental provider before the age of 2 has progressively increased, and fewer Colorado children have cavities now than they did 10 years ago.
For examples from other sources, see: