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Posted
September 10, 2007

Montgomery County developing insurance "safety net"

The Montgomery County Commission has assembled a coalition of hospital, business and community leaders to develop Montgomery County SafetyNet, which aims to provide "health care coverage to the county's 'vulnerable' population--those who are uninsured or on Medicaid, the government's insurance program for the poor" (source: Dayton Daily News," "With insurance crisis looming..." Sept. 9, 2007). According to the article, Montgomery County has nearly 70,000 uninsured residents, about 13 percent of its population, and is facing an increasing number of uninsured citizens in the coming years as manufacturers in the area continue to downsize.

Dr. Michael Ervin, a retired physician and insurance executive co-chairing the SafetyNet task force, said they are focusing on insuring adults given that many children in low income families are already eligible for the State Children Health Insurance Program. One component of SafetyNet will likely be a Federally Qualified Health Care Center in the county. The task force also hopes to see a "better system of coordinating and managing care for the uninsured and working poor, with a heavy focus on preventive medicine." The complete proposal for SafetyNet, including cost estimates, could be out by the end of the year.

The article also mentioned that Dayton-area hospitals, "mainly Good Samaritan, Miami Valley and Grandview in Dayton, spent nearly $66 million in 2005 providing care to the uninsured, often in emergency rooms, where care is most expensive." The hospitals also "spent another $19 million supporting a dozen clinics serving the same population."

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