About Us

Overview

More than 26,000 Anchorage adults lack health insurance. Research shows that people who lack health insurance obtain medical care ?too little and too late.? Some individuals who have insurance find it difficult to obtain care because of high deductibles, lack of providers taking their insurance, language barriers, lack of transportation, lack of evening clinics, and other reasons.

The Anchorage Access to Health Care Coalition formed through the efforts of the Anchorage Health Future Project and Anchorage Health and Human Services Commission out of concern for the growing numbers of people who were unable to obtain adequate medical care. The medically underserved are those who are unable to secure an adequate level of health care because of economic or resource barriers, including the medically indigent, uninsured, underinsured, people impacted by catastrophic events and those who lack specific services in their community.

The Coalition obtained accurate information about health care access in Anchorage in order to educate policy makers and the general public about the problem, and to provide a forum for the discussion of diverse options for improving access to health care in Anchorage.

Anchorage Access to Health Care Coalition Accomplishments

* Collection of quantitative and qualitative data about the uninsured in Anchorage
* Employer Benefit Survey in Anchorage
* Development of several fact sheets and reports
* Successful Health Care Access Track at 2001 Alaska Health Summit
* Research on efforts in other communities
* Presentations summarizing the data and research

Current Project

The Coalition is now working to develop a volunteer network of health care providers who will provide services to low income uninsured individuals in Anchorage. The network is based on a successful model developed by the Buncombe County Medical Society in Asheville, N.C.