Bell County Indigent Health Care Collaborative

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2022

Had the Bell County Indigent Health Care Collaborative only reduced costs to the lowest levels in more than a decade, it would have been considered a success. The fact that it accomplished this feat, while alleviating stress on hospitals and improving patient care, makes it a triumph. Since its inception, the Bell County Indigent Health Care (BCIHC) department had functioned in largely the same way: residents registered for the program, they received care in area hospitals (often Emergency Departments), and the county reimbursed the hospitals. This model of using Emergency Departments instead of traditional primary care was both more costly and less effective, as patients had no continuity of care. Through this collaborative, the county partnered with two community clinics, establishing them as the primary care providers for all BCIHC patients. To receive care, BCIHC patients must visit one of the clinics, where they receive both primary and specialty care, as well as prescription medications that the clinics are able to get deeply discounted through existing grants funds and prescription assistance programs (PAP). The results speak for themselves. Indigent Patients now receive more regular and preventative care, while costing the county less than half as much as two years ago.