Washington Health Foundation

KEY WASHINGTON HEALTH FOUNDATION STRATEGIC INITIATIVES:

STATEWIDE HEALTH ACCESS PROGRAMS

Access to health care and coverage has been one of the primary targets of Washington Health Foundation efforts throughout its history.  The Foundation’s revitalization in 1992 was borne out of a major effort to preserve access to care throughout rural Washington via the Rural Hospital Assistance Program.  RHAP is credited with saving several rural Washington hospitals from closure in the early 1990s.

As the Foundation grew in subsequent years, this included many programs and activities that related to defending or improving access to health care across the state.  Two major actions were to take over two Seattle area health access programs- the Community Health Access Program (CHAP) and the AIDS/HIV Care Access Project.

Both programs were formerly managed by the Seattle Area Hospital Council, which closed in 1995.  WHF agreed to take on both programs.  While this was accompanied by grant and hospital funding to help pay for the programs, the Foundation made significant investments of financial and strategic resources in securing and growing these programs.

Through in depth case management services, these two programs provided critical access to care support to thousands of Washingtonians each year.  The Foundation built upon this record of success, and added other programs.  This included the Early Intervention Insurance Project (EIIP) which used an insurance vehicle to assure that AIDS/HIV patients were able to access the drug regimens that were showing promise of helping to control the impact of the disease.

The Foundation also grew its role in securing access to health care across rural Washington.  It was again an essential element in creating and implementing the Proshare program which provided major subsidies to endangered rural hospitals.  One element of the program was a Rural Health Viability grant program created and managed by the Foundation, which made sure additional funding was provided to rural hospitals and other organizations struggling to provide access to care for rural Washingtonians.

The Foundation also grew a role in expanding and supporting efforts around access to health coverage.  It was the host organization for the Kids.Health.2001 program which was aimed at insuring all children in the greater Seattle area.  It was also the grantee and host of several Robert Wood Johnson Foundation programs to expand health insurance coverage to children across the state.

The Foundation also used grant making and convening to grow its statewide access interests.  A small portion of funds were used for Health Access grants, and the Foundation convened various groups and leaders to discuss innovative ways to advance access. Notable among these was the Foundation’s partnership with Seattle-King County Public Health Department in the Health Action Plan and the Kids Get Care program.

It also worked in partnership with other organizations to expand access, including the Washington Dental Service Foundation and the Children’s Alliance.  The Foundation’s major activities with respect to public policy also allowed it to pursue bigger solutions to health access problems at the state and national levels.  A notable success advocated by WHF was the health coverage expansions included in the Affordable Care Act.

As discussed in the Rural Initiative summary, the revitalization of the Foundation was stimulated by a rural agenda in 1992.  The Foundation grew its programs and staff to fill this need in the immediate years to follow.

The Foundation’s success in meeting this challenge, and other opportunities at the time, prodded and interest among key leaders in Washington health care, including in the Washington State Hospital Association, to grow its role to include urban and suburban areas of the state.

The Foundation Board was open to these ideas, but was clear that the rural funds of WHF were reserved for rural programming.  In 1995, funding related to several urban based programs became available to help fill urban leadership needs, especially in the Seattle area.  CHAP. ACAP.  Hospital Based Immunization Program.

Other opportunities.  EIIP.  Health Improvement.  Statewide conferences.

Proshare in 1999.  Statewide health funding.