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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Health for All program at risk with grant ending


Karen Sullens says that she has benefited from Health for All. She has lymphoma, thyroid problems and lupus and had breast cancer. Health for All helped her with insurance paperwork, and now she's covered. 
 (Colin Mulvany / The Spokesman-Review)

Lupus. Thyroid problems. Breast cancer. Lymphoma. Karen Sullens’ medical history isn’t pretty.

While undergoing chemotherapy treatment at the hospital three years ago, the former art-supply store owner was shocked to learn her monthly health insurance bill had shot up to more than $1,200. Her husband’s portion was the same.

The couple canceled their plan but spent months looking for better coverage. They tried applying for Washington state’s subsidized Basic Health Plan, but the paperwork was so complicated, they couldn’t get through it.

Finally, a friend directed them to Health for All, a Spokane program that helps the uninsured find coverage. Health for All guided them through the Basic Health application, and the Sullens now have coverage.

That’s why Karen Sullens was disappointed to hear that Health for All might cease to exist after August. Unless a fund-raising campaign is successful, the program that has connected 48,000 people with affordable health care in Eastern Washington since 1998 will fold.

A federal grant that has supported the program for four years is about to expire, according to the agency that administers Health for All.

“They were kind of like saviors for us,” said Sullens, who carries Health for All’s business cards to give to her friends in the art community who can’t afford insurance. “I give them that card and tell them to call and see if they can do something for them.”

Lisa Capoccia, a project administrator with the Health Improvement Partnership, the program’s umbrella agency, said Wednesday that the threat to close Health for All comes when more people than ever need help finding health care coverage.

“The need hasn’t gone away,” she said. “It has gotten more severe.”

Many of the people the program helps are uninsured for the first time in their lives, she said, perhaps because they’ve lost their jobs or because their employer has dropped their benefits.

“They have no understanding of how to access affordable services,” Capoccia said.

Capoccia fears that with more people uninsured, there will be a greater strain on hospitals. People without coverage might go to emergency rooms for primary care. Others might avoid treatment until their condition is dire – and more expensive to fix.

“The cost of that visit impacts the whole community,” Capoccia said. “It could put that person into bankruptcy, but it also results in uncompensated care for the hospital.”

An end to Health for All could result in the loss of as many as four full-time positions at the Health Improvement Partnership, Capoccia said.

The federal grant that’s set to expire was approved by the Clinton administration and was intended to boost the program’s reach. The grant decreased by 30 percent each year, amounting to a $315,000 allocation for the Health Improvement Partnership in 2005. About 75 percent of that funded Health for All.

In addition to seeking other federal and state grants, the agency plans to ask local businesses and the health care sector for support. Capoccia hopes one-third of its fund-raising will come from the community. The goal is to raise $800,000 in two years.

“In order to be sustained for the long term, we need to have local support,” she said.