Senator Murray Continues Work to Improve Health Care Access for Washington State Communities

(Washington,
D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the Labor,
Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) Subcommittee,
announced that she has included $40 million to support Medical Home
Demonstration Programs and collaborative health care networks in the Fiscal
Year 2011 LHHS Appropriations bill. The funding will be used to provide grants
to support Medical Home Demonstration Programs and Community-Based
Collaborative Care Networks (CCNs) across Washington state and the nation that
will provide low-income patients with better access to primary and preventive
health care services while lowering costs.  

“Collaborative
Care Networks will help communities begin implementing health care reform by
improving the coordination of health care providers,” said Senator Murray. “I’m
proud to have secured funding for these networks because it brings Washington
state one step closer to meeting a primary goal of health care reform – making
better care more accessible.”

Last
year, Senator Murray successfully worked to include her language to authorize
the creation of CCNs in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. CCNs are
made up of hospitals, community health centers, and other care providers, that
together offer coordinated care for low-income patient populations and
medically underserved communities.

Over the
long-term, CCNs will streamline the delivery of health care services at the
local level to improve access and lower costs by reducing unnecessary
emergency room use, improving outcomes, and providing greater access to primary
and preventive care.

“At
15 years old, CHOICE is one of the oldest CCNs in the nation. In our region, we
have cut unnecessary emergency department use in half, organized millions of
donated care a year and walked with over 80% of the uninsured on their journey
to access to care. We wouldn’t have been able to do this without Senator Murray
shining the light of the value and benefit of CCNs. With this type of funding,
we could take our work to the level it needs to be to successfully implement
health care reform. We’ve worked towards this for 10 years!” said Kristen West, Executive
Director of CHOICE Regional Health Network, which covers Thurston, Mason, Lewis, Grays
Harbor and Pacific Counties. 

Having
passed the full Senate Appropriations Committee, the bill will now go before
the full Senate for consideration.