Official Designation as an Accountable Community of Health

You may have heard a collective “Woohoo” from the BHT team yesterday when the Health Care Authority officially designated Better Health Together as an Accountable Community of Health. I can’t help but think of Sally Fields: “You like me … you like me!” 

Click here to read the official designation announcement.

We are really proud of the work our region has accomplished. We have convened the right players around the table: rurals and urbans, health systems and human services organizations, philanthropy, government and many other people and organizations that will be required to make our community radically healthier. We have come together as a region and prioritized five key areas . I wish I could say that our first year of forming was the hard work, but it really was not. Instead, the hard work is ahead, but I am optimistic about what is possible.

We had planned to host our 2nd Annual Health Champions Regional Gathering on Thursday, November 19th, but Mother Nature had a different idea. Due to the severe weather impacts throughout our region, we rescheduled this gathering to January 14th. Our goals and plans stay the same, we will just be a few weeks later launching the second phase of our Accountable Community of Health as well as the development of our Regional Health Action Plans. This fast-paced, highly interactive day will include design sessions for each of our key priority areas and a community mapping of the key activities that will be required to make meaningful and impactful progress.

After the Gathering, we will launch a series of Community Action Teams to further develop the community linkage maps and begin the hard work of transforming the system.  We know this is no easy task, but I know our region’s “can do” spirit will again make us a leader in this work. If you would like to attend please let Casey know you will be there at casey@betterhealthtogehter.org.

Open Enrollment Launched November 1st

There was a lot less fanfare than our first Open Enrollment period and fortunately a lot less technical glitches—but BHT is at it again. We want to make sure every person in our region has health insurance. As of March 31, 2015 we were under 5%; our goal is to get that number down to 2% this year. We can do it!

Thanks to our robust Navigator Network of 125 on-the-ground partners, our dedicated BHT Navigator team and our plan to participate in more than 40 community events, we are confident we will meet our goal to enroll/reenroll 4,000 people between November 1 and January 31. We are focused this year on individuals who are eligible for Qualified Health Plans; these are the people who can are eligible for a tax subsidy to purchase health insurance.

Insurance Opportunity by County

Accountable Community of Health

Accountable Communities of Health (ACHs) are a key component of of Healthier Washington, our state’s coordinated effort to help ensure better health, better care and lower costs for Washington residents.

Better Health Together serves as lead for the Spokane region ACH, a community-based partnership working across all sectors and all seven of our counties, to develop shared priority, strategies and action plans to improve health.

Visit the Regional Impact Map to see our network of ACH partners.

The Navigator Network of Eastern Washington

The Navigator Network of Eastern Washington has 150 assisters and 48 partners in 7 counties.

The Navigator Network launched with a target enrollment goal of 10,000 participants in qualified healthcare plans. Within the first two years, the Network dramatically exceeded this number, enrolling more than 100,000 participants. Because of this work, more than 95% of our region has insurance coverage.

Our network’s tremendous success comes from the web of diverse partners connected across our region. Visit the Regional Impact Map to see the collaboration and reach of The Navigator Network.

These partners represent many sectors including: Community health clinics, hospitals, public health, nonprofit organizations, faith based community organizations, behavioral health providers, the criminal justice system, aging and long-term care, affordable housing agencies, libraries, early learning, K-12 education, and higher education.

This vast network has reached population segments including un/underinsured people, older adults, people with disabilities, low-income individuals and families, people experiencing homelessness, foster youth, prison and re-entry populations, people with limited English proficiency, migrant workers, small businesses, rural populations, and the region’s diverse racial/ethnic populations.

Throughout the year, BHT coordinates numerous outreach activities leading up to the annual open enrollment period for health insurance. We also strategically reach out to people who qualify for special enrollment, such as people losing other coverage due to a change in employment or income. This work happens at community-based events, through community based partnerships, higher education, with the business sector, and in faith-based settings. Overall, we have engaged more than 60,000 individuals through direct, in-person outreach and awareness activities.

DENT (Dental Emergencies Needing Treatment)

The DENT program connects patients to dental care and expands the network of dental providers accepting Apple Health. It was designed to reduce unnecessary Emergency Room utilization for dental emergencies and to coordinate a network of oral health care providers to improve access, health, and reduce costs for this population.

Our Community Health Worker team receives referrals from the Emergency Room and connects patients with Medicaid accepting dentists, provides behavioral coaching and ensuring that patients have the support to follow their dental care plan. We are also working to to recruit new dentists to accept Apple Health patients.

Go to the Regional Impact Map to see funders and partners for this and other BHT programs.

Healthier Washington

Healthier Washington

Medicaid Transformation Waiver

Medicaid Transformation Waiver

Regional Health Improvement Project

Regional Health Improvement Project

Strategy Map – Integrated Care

Integrated Care