As the number of uninsured people rises in the Tristate, a new program seeks to connect more people to programs that can help pay their medical bills.

        The Health Access Advocacy Project was launched in December by the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati with more than $250,000 in grants from three charities.

        “Cincinnati has a growing number of people without health insurance,” said Mary Asbury, Legal Aid executive director. “Almost 15 percent of the people who call us for help with legal problems report that they do not have health insurance.”

        Uninsured people often do not seek care for health problems until the problems become extreme. When they do get care, uncovered medical bills can quickly force a family into bankruptcy.

        Providing care to uninsured people creates a financial burden for many public and private health care providers, said Trey Daly, advocacy project manager.

        Legal Aid has helped many low-income people deal with medically related legal problems in past years. But this program expands and reorganizes those efforts, Mr. Daly said.

        The goal of the Health Access Advocacy Project is to help more uninsured people enroll in programs they may not know about, such as Medicaid for low-income families and child health insurance programs for slightly higher income families.

        Legal Aid hopes to help individuals work with hospitals to benefit from a Hamilton County hospital levy and the Ohio Hospital Care Assurance Program, which repays hospitals for some of the uncompensated care they provide.

        In some cases, the agency plans to negotiate coverage for special services with public and private insurers. It also may help people deal with bankruptcy court, Mr. Daly said.

        The project plans to work with doctors and hospitals to publicize changes in eligibility rules, including a Jan. 19 workshop to explain recent changes allowing thousands of people to re-enroll in Medicaid after losing coverage as a result of welfare reform.

       For information about the Health Access Advocacy Project, call 362-2870, extension 240.

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