Community Health Advocates, originally named the New York City Managed Care Consumer Assistance Program (MCCAP), was launched in 1999 to help consumers understand and enroll into Medicaid Managed Care.
The NYC Task Force on Medicaid Managed Care (a coalition of health consumers, advocates, providers, and consumers) issued a report which documented the serious difficulties Medicaid beneficiaries faced when switching to managed care and urged policymakers to create a health care ombudsprogram to assist health consumers.
In order to ease this transition--and to assist health consumers more broadly--the New York City Council funded the Community Service Society of New York (CSS) to establish a consumer assistance program (ombudsman program) to help consumers enroll in health coverage and receive care. The Council selected the Community Service Society of New York (CSS) to design and operate the program, because of its experience providing community-based health education.
Before the development of the NYC MCCAP, CSS commissioned a citywide survey to identify people most likely to lose health care because of the complexities of managed care. The survey, a random sample of 800 New Yorkers (interviewed by phone in five languages), found the following groups most vulnerable:
- Recent immigrants
- People with Limited English Proficiency
- Low-income individuals
- People with chronic illnesses
CSS designed the NYC MCCAP program to help these high-priority populations and Community Health Advocates has now provided assistance to these groups for over ten years. CHA offers assistance in 11 languages and continues to expand its linkages to high-need communities throughout the city.
As the program has matured, Community Health Advocates has broadened its efforts to help address the significant challenge of uninsurance in New York City. In New York City, 1.3 million residents are uninsured and two-thirds of the uninsured population lives below 200% of poverty ($36,600 for a family of three in 2010).
Community Health Advocates offers services through a network of trusted community-based organizations that have deep experience in working with these populations. Community Health Advocates agencies are selected through a competitive bidding process. The program currently subcontracts with 31 agencies throughout New York City. By providing grants, training, materials, and technical assistance to these organizations, Community Health Advocates enables network agencies to assist their clients with all health access related questions and problems.
Today, serving over 8,000 New Yorkers annually, Community Health Advocates is one of the largest health care consumer assistance programs in the country. Since its inception, the program has reached more than 130,000 New Yorkers.
In the coming year, attention will shift to national health reform and how it will impact the way people receive health care. The Community Health Advocates program offers a compelling model for helping consumers to navigate these new changes in our health care system. As health reform becomes a reality, Community Health Advocates will monitor these changes, providing expert assistance to individuals and service providers alike in order to ensure that everyone can access affordable, quality health care.
