Wisconsin Governor Uses Federal Money To Address Health Care Disparities – InsuranceNewsNet

InsuranceNewsNet — Your Industry. One Source.™

Sign in
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Home Now reading Newswires
Topics
    • Life Insurance
    • Annuity News
    • Health/Employee Benefits
    • Property and Casualty
    • Advisor News
    • Washington Wire
    • Regulation News
    • Sponsored Content
    • Webinars
    • Monthly Focus
  • INN Exclusives
  • NewsWires
  • Magazine
  • Free Newsletters
Sign in or register to be an INNsider.
  • INN Exclusives
  • NewsWires
  • Magazine
  • Free Newsletters
  • Insider
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Staff
  • Contact
  • Newsletters

Get Social

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Health Insurance Newsletter
Newswires RSS Get our newsletter
Order Prints
August 25, 2021 Newswires No comments
Share
Share
Tweet
Email

Wisconsin Governor Uses Federal Money To Address Health Care Disparities

Journal Times, The (Racine, WI)

Aug. 25—RACINE — Gov. Tony Evers announced on Tuesday that he will use $250 million of the state's American Recovery Plan Act funds to establish two new programs to address disparities in health care.

What is the ARPA?

The American Rescue Plan Act is the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package that immediately became a landmark legislation for President Joe Biden, who signed it into law on March 11.

The announcement came as the governor visited Racine, stopping at the proposed Julian Thomas Elementary School Health Clinic, 930 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

"For too many people, access to care, compassionate providers, or an accessible clinic remains out of reach," Evers said. "Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic further underscored the health disparities and gaps in health care and access that many Wisconsinites face...

"Overall, these $250 million of new funds will help communities and neighborhoods right here in Racine and across our state bounce back from the pandemic," Evers said. "We're going to propel ourselves forward and build the sort of state that we want for ourselves with these resources."

The governor intends to put $50 million toward a health care infrastructure capital investment grant program that would assist local and tribal governments, as well as nonprofit health care organizations, build, expand or improve existing facilities.

This could include building a new facility in an underserved area — like the City of Racine and Racine Unified aim to do at Julian Thomas Elementary — or the expansion/renovating of an existing facility to serve more people.

The governor intends to use $200 million to establish a neighborhood investment fund grant program that would address housing projects, child care, the expansion of transit options and the development of public spaces.

Evers explained addressing health equity issues included addressing the inequity that exists in neighborhoods and communities in terms of access to transportation, child care, housing and includes "addressing the social determinants that impact people's health and success."

Mayor Cory Mason noted that Racine was one of the biggest communities in the Midwest without a federally funded health clinic.

Health clinic

Establishing a health clinic at the Julian Thomas Elementary School Health Clinic has been in the works for years. The clinic is overseen by the Racine Community Health Board, a nonprofit formed for the purpose of establishing the clinic.

Shebaniah Muhammad, president of the Racine Community Health Board, said: the more support the clinic has, the more services they can provide.

"We're here to serve the people and we look forward to opening so that everyone has access to affordable health care," Muhammad added. "No matter where they come from, no matter their income, insurance, lack of insurance, we know that the need is here."

The clinic, which may open sometime this fall, was designed to offer basic dental care, health care and some behavioral health care.

The clinic will give at-risk or underserved community members a place to go instead of going to the emergency room, which sometimes happens when people do not have the resources to see a doctor in private practice.

The clinic has two rooms for dental service, four examination rooms for health care, and two rooms for behavioral health care. It is expected to have a sliding-scale fee structure, and they will bill Medicaid, Medicare, and third-party private insurance.

As such, depending on a person's eligibility, the service might be free or it might be offered at a significantly reduced cost.

City response

The governor's announcement received an enthusiastic response from the members of the Racine City Council who were present.

Alderman John Tate II, president of the City Council, noted the pandemic exposed the disparities that already existed in some Racine neighborhoods that had yet to recover from the loss of manufacturing jobs and previous recessions.

"If we only return to where we were, that's not really success, that's not really recovery, that's not really thriving for our communities," he said. "These grant programs are designed to not only bounce back but bounce beyond."

Tate continued: "If we use these funds accordingly and wisely and equitably, we can actually get to a place where everybody is taking advantage of the freedoms and the privileges and possibilities that exist in this country, not just those who are already in a good position and are able to avoid the challenges that come along."

Mason pointed out the proposed health clinic was made possible through the partnerships of Ascension All Saints Hospital, Advocate Aurora Health, Gateway Technical College, and the county of Racine as well as Racine Unified School District. "It's been a great community partnership."

___

(c)2021 The Journal Times, Racine, Wisc.

Visit The Journal Times, Racine, Wisc. at www.journaltimes.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Older

Data from University of Florida Update Knowledge in Environmental Research and Public Health (The Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Dental Care: An Integrative Literature Review)

Newer

House passes bill bolstering landmark voting law

Advisor News

  • Here's one reason why America's racial wealth gap persists across generations
  • Ken Morris: Before you retire early, ask yourself a simple question
  • Half of Kansans have no retirement savings. This statewide program is a no-brainer
  • Savvy Senior: How to choose a 55-plus active adult community
  • Sinema took Wall Street money while killing tax on investors
More Advisor News

Annuity News

  • Colorado adopts new annuity sales regulations
  • National Western Life introduces new fixed indexed annuity, NWL New Frontiers
  • Jackson National announces second quarter 2022 results
  • Brighthouse Financial adds to Shield Level annuity suite with new product
  • Prudential FlexGuard reaches $10B total sales milestone at record pace
More Annuity News

Health/Employee Benefits News

  • EDITORIAL: Inflation Reduction Act is stealing Medicare dollars
  • UnitedHealthcare introduces new business unit Surest
  • Texas lawmakers ask feds to reconsider Medicaid expansion proposal
  • Plan to help poor Mississippians with health insurance stripped from latest federal bill
  • Giannis Antetokounmpo invests in telehealth company
More Health/Employee Benefits News

Life Insurance

  • Alex Murdaugh petitions to delay Mallory Beach trial amid murder charges
  • Sales of life combination products rebound in 2021, LIMRA reports
  • Integrity Marketing Group acquires Richman Insurance Agency
  • How to get the most out of Life Insurance Awareness Month
  • Life application activity down in July, MIB Index reports
More Life Insurance

- Presented By -

How to Write For InsuranceNewsNet

Find out how you can submit content for publishing on our website.
View Guidelines

FEATURED OFFERS

Get Linked INN to your industry Connect with INN on LinkedIn to be first on all the news and insights that matter to your industry.

Press ReleasesAll press releases

  • National Western Life introduces newest fixed indexed annuity, NWL® New Frontiers
  • CybeReady Supports Security Defenses with CISO Toolkit
  • Life and Disability Income Insurance Products from MassMutual Now Available on iPipeline®’s End-to-End Digital Platform
  • Business on the Go with The Crump Mobile App
  • iPipeline® Provides Advisors Excel with Unified Path Toward Accessing Core Data Analytics in Financial Services
Add your Press Release >

Topics

  • Life Insurance
  • Annuity News
  • Health/Employee Benefits
  • Property and Casualty
  • Advisor News
  • Washington Wire
  • Regulation News
  • Sponsored Content
  • Webinars
  • Monthly Focus

Top Sections

  • Life Insurance
  • Annuity News
  • Health/Employee Benefits News
  • Property and Casualty News
  • AdvisorNews
  • Washington Wire
  • Insurance Webinars

Our Company

  • About
  • Editorial Staff
  • Magazine
  • Write for INN
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Sign up for our FREE e-Newsletter!

Get breaking news, exclusive stories, and money- making insights straight into your inbox.

select Newsletter Options
Facebook Linkedin Twitter
© 2022 InsuranceNewsNet.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • AdvisorNews

Sign in with your INNsider Account

Not registered? Become an INNsider.