Staff Writer
The Register-Herald
FAYETTEVILLE —
New River Health Association is taking advantage of a West Virginia pilot program to provide affordable health care to West Virginians who do not have health care insurance.
“This program, which is not to be confused with health insurance, offers health care to individuals and families who don’t have health insurance,” Dave Sotak, New River Health’s chief executive officer, said in a press release. “These people are often prevented from getting primary health care on a regular basis because of their lack of health insurance.”
In participating in this pilot program, New River Health Association is affiliating with Primary Care One, a successful system developed through the pilot program in Wheeling and also replicated in Fairmont.
Enrollees in the program will receive a wide range of preventive, primary and urgent care services for a monthly fee of $60 for an individual or $115 for a family with no claim forms, co-payments or pre-authorizations. Services covered include annual physicals, X-rays, primary care visits, drugs from a generic formulary, blood tests, urgent care and health counseling.
“Primary Care One gives patients a medical home, where they can receive unlimited access to preventive and routine medical care, so they won’t delay receiving the care they need,” Sotak said. “This can decrease costs at the primary and urgent care level, where most medical encounters occur.”
The program also is advantageous for small- and medium-sized businesses, including restaurants and tourism-related firms, which could not otherwise afford to provide health care coverage to their employees.
Primary Care One enrollment will be available initially at New River Health’s North Fayette and Whipple clinics, but it will become available soon at all six of NRHA’s clinics.
In 2006, the Legislature approved a bill, introduced by Gov. Manchin, to authorize several pilot projects like this to help provide more West Virginians with health care through prepaid premiums. The West Virginia Health Care Authority, in cooperation with the Offices of the Insurance Commissioner, is in charge of authorizing and regulating the programs.
