Guidance in navigating the insurance market from HealthCare Access Maryland – WBAL-TV

HealthCare Access Maryland: Advancing Sustainable Development Goals Through Healthcare Equity

Organizational Mission and Contribution to Global Goals

HealthCare Access Maryland (HCAM), a non-profit organization, is actively working to ensure equitable access to healthcare services for all residents. This mission directly supports several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), focusing on creating a more inclusive and healthy society.

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being: By assisting individuals in enrolling in and navigating health insurance, HCAM makes a critical contribution to achieving universal health coverage (Target 3.8), ensuring all people have access to quality essential health-care services without financial hardship.
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities: The organization’s core objective is to promote equity across the healthcare landscape, directly addressing the goal of reducing inequality within and among countries by empowering vulnerable populations (Target 10.2).

Comprehensive Services Promoting Health and Economic Stability

HCAM provides a range of services designed to simplify healthcare access and promote long-term well-being, aligning with key development targets.

1. Health Insurance Enrollment: Certified counselors offer one-on-one guidance for enrolling in Medicaid and Qualified Health Plans. This service is fundamental to achieving SDG 1 (No Poverty) by protecting families from catastrophic health expenditures that can lead to poverty (Target 1.3).
2. Financial Guidance: The organization helps clients identify eligibility for tax credits and subsidies, making healthcare affordable and accessible.
3. System Navigation: Assistance extends to selecting Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) and finding primary care physicians, ensuring that insurance coverage translates into tangible health outcomes.

Focused Initiatives for Vulnerable Populations

HCAM demonstrates a profound commitment to SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) by providing specialized support to groups that often face barriers to healthcare.

• Pregnant and Postpartum Women: This focus supports SDG 5 (Gender Equality) by ensuring access to essential maternal health services.
• Reentry Community: By working within prisons, HCAM aids individuals transitioning back into the community, contributing to SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) by fostering social reintegration and reducing recidivism.
• Foster Care Youth: The organization provides medical case management for all children in Baltimore City’s foster care system.
• Elderly Populations: Specialized assistance is available for seniors who may find the enrollment process particularly confusing.

Community Engagement and Enrollment Events

To maximize accessibility, HCAM is hosting in-person events where individuals can receive direct assistance from certified counselors.

1. Laurel Community Health Center

   • Date: November 29th
   • Time: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM

2. Patapsco High School

   • Date: December 13th
   • Time: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Access to Services

HCAM ensures that support is available through multiple channels.

• Phone: 410-547-1000
• In-Person Office: 217 East Redwood, Downtown
• Website: HCAM.org

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

SDG 1: No Poverty

• The article connects to SDG 1 by discussing services that alleviate financial burdens related to healthcare, which is a key component of social protection. By helping individuals enroll in “free Medicaid” or identify “tax credits” for qualified health plans, HealthCare Access Maryland (HCAM) helps reduce out-of-pocket health expenditures for low-income and vulnerable populations, preventing them from falling into poverty due to medical costs.

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

• This is the most central SDG addressed. The entire article focuses on HCAM’s mission to help people “navigating the health care space.” Their work to “enroll in health insurance,” secure a plan, and “finding a doctor” directly contributes to ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all ages by improving access to essential healthcare services.

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

• The article highlights HCAM’s commitment to “making sure that there’s equity across the board.” They achieve this by specifically targeting and assisting vulnerable populations who often face the greatest barriers to healthcare access. This includes the “elderly population,” “pregnant women, postpartum women,” the “reentry community” from prisons, and “foster care kids.” By providing tailored, in-person assistance, they work to reduce inequalities in healthcare access and outcomes.

Identified SDG Targets

Targets under SDG 1: No Poverty

• Target 1.3: Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable.
  • HCAM’s work directly supports the implementation of social protection systems like Medicaid. By actively helping eligible individuals enroll, they ensure that these government-provided safety nets reach the intended vulnerable populations.

Targets under SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

• Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.
  • The article details HCAM’s role in achieving this target by assisting people to “enroll in health insurance, whether it’s Medicaid or on the qualified health plans.” This provides financial risk protection. Furthermore, helping them navigate the system to find a “managed care organization or a plan and then finding a doctor” directly addresses the goal of ensuring access to quality essential healthcare services.

Targets under SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

• Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
  • By providing one-on-one guidance from a “certified counselor,” HCAM empowers individuals from vulnerable groups (elderly, reentry community, etc.) who might otherwise be excluded from the complex healthcare system. This assistance promotes their inclusion and ensures they can access essential services.
• Target 10.3: Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome…
  • The daunting and confusing nature of insurance enrollment can be a significant barrier that creates unequal opportunities for healthcare. HCAM’s work to make the process easy and understandable, as stated in the article, directly addresses this by removing systemic barriers and promoting equal opportunity for everyone to secure health coverage.

Implied Indicators for Measuring Progress

Indicators for Target 1.3

• Number of individuals enrolled in free Medicaid: The article explicitly mentions, “If you’re eligible for free Medicaid, we will walk you through that process.” Tracking the number of successful enrollments would be a direct indicator of extending social protection coverage.
• Number of individuals receiving tax credits for health plans: The service to “help you identify which plan is best for your family, which tax credits you’ll be eligible for” implies that the number of people who successfully receive these credits is a measurable outcome of HCAM’s work.

Indicators for Target 3.8

• Number of individuals enrolled in health insurance: The core service is to “help individuals enroll in health insurance.” This is the primary, quantifiable indicator of progress towards universal health coverage mentioned in the article.
• Number of individuals connected with a doctor: The article states that after enrollment, HCAM helps in “finding a doctor.” This is a direct measure of access to essential health services.

Indicators for Targets 10.2 and 10.3

• Number of individuals from vulnerable populations assisted: The article specifically lists several vulnerable groups served, including the “elderly population,” “pregnant women,” the “reentry community,” and “foster care kids.” A key indicator of reducing inequality would be the disaggregated data showing how many people from each of these groups received assistance.

Source: wbaltv.com