Funding from the Colorado Health Foundation to improve access to specialty care countywide.
Since 2007, the Community Foundation’s Boulder County Health Improvement Collaborative (BCHIC) has convened and facilitated dialogue among health leaders – physicians, healthcare administrators, safety-net providers, hospitals, and public health and human services leaders.
This month, the collaborative was awarded $300K from the Colorado Health Foundation to improve access to specialty care for Medicaid and uninsured patients countywide.
“BCHIC proves that we accomplish more together than we do alone,” says Morgan McMillan, Vice President of Community Leadership for the Community Foundation Boulder County. “Boulder County is home to 90K people who are publicly insured, or who remain uninsured – and an estimated 70% of those are unable to access medically necessary specialty care. The mission of the collaborative is to improve the quality, safety, efficiency and accessibility of healthcare and public health services for all patients in our community.”
Specifically, BCHIC will improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities by increasing access to specialty care (like dermatology, orthopedics and endocrinology) for Medicaid and uninsured patients in Boulder County by:
- recruiting specialist providers willing to treat Medicaid and uninsured patients;
- creating a scalable centralized online hub that shares a real-time list of providers and patient slots,
- along with key information needed for an effective visit; and
- streamlining the referral system for providers and care coordinators.
“With healthcare reform, Medicaid expanded greatly,” McMillan explains. “A lot more people are eligible for Medicaid, who were previously uninsured. And while that means greater access to coverage, it doesn’t necessarily translate to access to all the care you might need.
“In Boulder County, we have three community health centers that serve a large portion of our Medicaid recipients, as well as our uninsured patients. But it can be challenging to find specialists who see Medicaid patients due to low reimbursements.”
Says Valerie Lipetz, MD, Chief Medical Officer for Boulder Community Health’s Ambulatory Services, and Chair of BCHIC’s Medical Neighborhood Committee: “BCHIC supports a culture of community among area healthcare providers. We can make a big dent in the current waiting list for specialty care if everyone steps up to take a small number of patients.
“We also recognize the inefficiencies in the current patch-worked system. Funding from the Colorado Health Foundation will help us streamline referrals to make it easier for specialists who want to help the underserved to participate. Ultimately, this is about creating a better healthcare system for patients.”
BCHIC participants include:
Avista Hospital
Boulder Centre for Orthopedics
Boulder Community Health
Boulder County Area Agency on Aging
Boulder County Housing and Human Services
Boulder County Public Health
Boulder Medical Center
Boulder Valley Independent Physicians Association
Clinica Family Health Services
Community Foundation Boulder County Dental Aid
Exempla Good Samaritan Hospital
Frasier Meadows
HealthBridge
Integrated Physician Network
Kaiser Permanente
Longmont United Hospital
Mental Health Partners
Physician Health Partners
Rocky Mountain Gastroenterology
Salud Clinic
The Boulder County Commissioners’ Office
The Children’s Hospital
TRU Community Care
University of Colorado Boulder Wardenburg Health Services
Women’s Health
