Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
New Bedford will use a three-year grant totaling $190,000 as a means of boosting the percentage of families and children who have health insurance.
The program focuses on the benefits of having insurance, “so families identify insurance as a preventative measure, not as a reaction of being sick and going to the emergency room,” said Brenda Weis, the city’s health director.
The National League of Cities, which is channeling the funding, projects that the program could reduce New Bedford’s uninsured rate by 50 percent, according to Weis.
The program grew out of a city service, also overseen by Weis, that promotes oral health. Roughly three of every four New Bedford families are eligible for Medicaid or the MassHealth program, Weis
said.
New Bedford’s health department, she said, identifies families that lack insurance and makes sure parents understand that they have to re-enroll in the program each year.
The city, which has a population of roughly 95,000, is promoting the campaign through its schools. Early in October, Mayor Jon Mitchell spoke about health insurance at an elementary school.
“Just like you know not to eat a second bag of potato chips instead of fruit, you should make sure your family knows about health insurance,” The New Bedford Standard-Times quoted Mitchell as saying.
A website provides answers to questions such as “Why is health insurance important?,” “Do I qualify for health insurance?,” and “How do I apply?”
New Bedford is also developing a system to help the Health Department keep track of children and their families when the children change schools.
“It’s easier to retain than it is to re-enroll,” Weis noted.
Providence, R.I., also received one of the eight grants, which are awarded through the National League of Cities’ Institute for Youth, Education and Families. Funding comes from The Atlantic Philanthropies, a charitable foundation with a global reach. Other grant recipients are Dallas; Garden City, Mich.; Hattiesburg, Miss.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Pittsburgh; and Savannah, Ga.