Program areas at Project Access NOW
Low-income and other vulnerable populations in our community often face extraordinary barriers to accessing resources that sustain health. The community assistance program (cap) connects individuals in need of resources that help them successfully transition from a hospital or emergency room back into the community following a major medical intervention. Additionally, the team works closely with coordinated care organizations (ccos) to support medicaid members in accessing health-related, non-medical resources available to them. In fiscal year 2023,16,961 individuals received social support services through the program including such supports as rental assistance, transportation, healthy food, and utility payments.
Project Access Now works with safety net clinics, area health systems, and most of the major specialty and multi-specialty clinics in the portland metro area to provide donated care to those who remain uninsured and who meet specific income requirements. The majority are immigrants, documented and undocumented, who are unable to receive health insurance coverage under the affordable care act or medicaid expansion. In fiscal year 2023, 2,606 individuals unable to Access health insurance received donated specialty and primary health care and 1,848 individuals received Access to low-cost prescription medicines.
Health insurance can be out of reach for individuals who make too much to qualify for medicaid but too little to afford private insurance on the federal marketplace.many individuals "fall through the cracks" of our health care system and are unable to afford insurance even though it is legally available to them. The payment support program pays the monthly insurance premium for individuals in this income range (200-400% fpl) so they stay insured and also helps educate participants on how to utilize insurance once covered. In fiscal year 2023, 547 individuals received support to cover their monthly insurance premium.
Additionally, the Project Access Now outreach team attended 78 community events in fiscal year 2023 and 47,864 individuals were reached via events and media. 720 individuals completed the organization's social needs screening form resulting in 390 referrals for navigation from our community health workers.