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The Arkansas River Valley Rural Health Cooperative: Building a Three‐pronged Approach to Improved Health and Health Care
Author(s) -
Stewart M. Kathryn,
Redford Robert “Bob”,
Poe Kendall,
Veach Debbie,
Hines Rebecca,
Beachler Michael
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
the journal of rural health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.439
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1748-0361
pISSN - 0890-765X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1748-0361.2003.tb01058.x
Subject(s) - medicaid , business , legislation , subsidy , health care , population , medicine , environmental health , economic growth , political science , economics , law
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 (eg, 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 .