FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 1, 2006

An estimated 20 million people in the United States are uninsured. In Iowa 168,000 people can’t afford health insurance even though the majority of them are working. Mercy Medical Center – Des Moines is making access to affordable, high quality health care easier through a newly created program called Fulfilling the Mission.

The five components of “Fulfilling the Mission” are:

1. A new Specialty Services Fund. This initiative includes Mercy providing a minimum of $1 million annually for five years, to create an endowment that will assist in bringing specialty services to people who are uninsured. Operations of the endowment will begin January 1, 2006. Mercy will collaborate with physicians and physician groups willing to join in this effort and provide additional free services for patients in this program. Additional details are still being finalized before the fund becomes operational in 2006.
2. Enhanced Program for the Uninsured. For the past two decades government has steadily reduced what it pays hospitals and doctors, as compared to costs, and private insurance companies have pushed for larger and larger discounts from charges. As a result, the people remaining who pay full charges are those without insurance – often those with the least ability to pay. Mercy is addressing this problem by offering a substantial discount to those who are uninsured, cannot afford insurance, and do not qualify for free care.
3. Expansion of the Financial Assistance Policy and more proactive efforts to qualify patients for charity care prior to treatment. Changes to the policy include lowering the thresholds to qualify for financial assistance and changing admission and application procedures to ensure needs are identified at the time patients arrive for care or before.
4. Increased support for Community Health Clinics. A key to helping people improve their health, and also to lowering health care costs overall, is to ensure that families have access to primary care services. Mercy has addressed this need in part by building strong physician organizations including Mercy Clinics, Inc. As part of this new initiative, Mercy will further strengthen its commitment by supporting clinics outside the Mercy organization. Collaborating clinics thus far include: Primary Health Care, a federally-qualified community health center (FQCHC); LaClinica Medica, a private Spanish-speaking primary care clinic on the Mercy Capitol campus; and the free clinic at House of Mercy.
5. Continued Community Engagement. Understanding community needs is the first step in establishing any strategy for improvement. We at Mercy recognize that community needs can shift rapidly and must be continually evaluated. Therefore, we commit to engaging the community in an ongoing dialogue to ensure that our initiatives truly match the needs of the community members we serve.

Mercy is making these changes because we are committed to the traditions of caring for the poor that have been a part of the Sisters of Mercy and our Mission in central Iowa for more than a century. If you have any questions about Fulfilling the Mission or want more information about programs available for the medically indigent, uninsured, underinsured or financially needy individuals or families, please call the Mercy Nurse at 2-HEALTH (243-2584).