Task Force on NC Healthcare Safety Net
In January 2004, the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable
Trust awarded funding to the North Carlina Institute of Medicine to study
the adequacy and financial viability of the current healthcare safety-net
structure and to develop models to better integrate existing resources.
The safety-net system--including community and migrant health centers,
rural health clinics, free clinics, Project Access models, local health
departments, school-based health clinics, hospital outpatient and
emergency rooms and teaching clinics--are a major source of care for the
more than 1.4 million uninsured people in North Carolina.
The number of uninsured has risen recently, leading to an increased number
of people seeking health care from safety-net providers. Yet, federal and
state funding has not increased to subsidize the care of those seeking
services. The goal of this Task Force initiative was to develop a plan to
better coordinate and integrate existing safety-net institutions, identify
communities with inadequate systems to care for the uninsured and
underinsured, identify possible funding sources (nationally and locally)
that can be used to expand care to the uninsured, and ultimately to
expand and strengthen the capacity of healthcare providers and safety-net
institutions to care for underserved populations.
Carmen Hooker Odom, Secretary of the NC Department of Health and Human
Services, and Sherwood Smith, JD, Chair Emeritus of Carolina Power and
Light, helped co-chair the Task Force. Also asked to participate in this
endeavor were representatives from community health centers, rural health
clinics, free clinics, local health departments, school based health
clinics, Project Access models, and hospitals, legislators, county
commissioners, and advocates, and business, faith, and community leaders.