FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 8, 2017
Statewide nonprofit reaches milestone in helping people obtain insurance and services
WHAT: 20th Anniversary Celebration of HealthCare Access Maryland
WHEN: Thursday, November 9, 2017 | 6 – 9:30 p.m.
WHERE: American Visionary Art Museum | 840 Key Highway, Baltimore, MD 21230
BALTIMORE – HealthCare Access Maryland (HCAM) will celebrate 20 years of providing health services to Marylanders at a gala event Nov. 9. For two decades, HCAM has remained steadfast in its commitment to serving the most vulnerable populations through care coordination, education and advocacy in Baltimore and surrounding jurisdictions.
“I am overjoyed to be celebrating 20 years of HealthCare Access Maryland,” said HCAM CEO Traci Kodeck. “This milestone reinforces two decades of our continued success with enrolling individuals and families into health insurance as well as the importance of a nonprofit entity to address the social determinants of health. HCAM has come a long way since the era of paper applications and door to door outreach, now replaced with social media to get our health messaging out quickly. I look forward to guiding our team through another 20 years and I know we must go further in our work with health equity and population health.”
HCAM was established as Baltimore HealthCare Access in 1997 under the leadership of Dr. Peter Beilenson, former Baltimore City health commissioner. Starting with 40 employees and two core programs, HCAM now manages more than 16 programs throughout the state. Each year, HCAM connects more than 145,000 uninsured and underinsured clients to health insurance, health care and vital community resources.
“We can provide all the services in the world, but if people don’t know about the services or can’t otherwise get connected to them, those services aren’t reaching our most vulnerable residents,” said Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen. “HCAM connects people to insurance and is the critical bridge to reaching people where they are. It is an honor to join HCAM in celebrating 20 years of life-saving work.”
HCAM has also partnered with health care providers on important efforts to reduce readmissions to hospitals and to cut down on unnecessary and costly repeat visits to hospital emergency rooms.
HCAM also acts as the Connector Entity for the state’s central and mid-western regions – including Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Anne Arundel County, Carroll County, Frederick County and Howard County – to enroll consumers in health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
HealthCare Access Maryland was established in 1997 as Baltimore HealthCare Access to initially assist with the Medicaid transition to managed care. After growing steadily, the agency broadened its reach to provide services to people throughout the state and adopted its current name in 2011. For more information, visit www.healthcareaccessmaryland.org.
