Public Health to Increase or Add Fees for Some Services

New Fees Comparable to Those of Other County Health Departments;
No One Will Be Turned Away for Inability to Pay!

On October 1, the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District and the Champaign County Public Health Department will increase or add fees for some medical and prevention services.

The divisions of Family Health, HIV/STD/TB Prevention & Management and Community Health Nursing will increase or introduce new fees for services such as adult vaccines, school and sports physicals, well child and sick child visits and the administration of flu and pneumonia shots and other vaccines.

Why is Public Health charging these fees?

After many months of study, surveys of some Public Health clients and a comparison of Champaign County fees with those charged by other health departments, the administration, division directors and both the C-U and County Boards of Health agreed that a fee increase was an acceptable move at this time. Here are some of the reasons for the change:

Most Public Health fees have been lower than those of other health departments and lower than the amounts reimbursed by Medicaid. If Public Health does not charge a fee for a service to clients who are Medicaid-eligible, it cannot collect any of the available revenue for that service from Medicaid. (More than 90 percent of Family Health clients are Medicaid eligible.)

Public Health resources are extremely limited, but the demand for services keeps increasing. Here are the sources of Public Health funding:

* GRANTS 61 percent
* TAXES.   28 percent
* FEES.       11 percent

Tax revenues received by Public Health are capped and so only rise with inflation. The agency is always looking for new grants, but most grants are tied to specific programs and cannot be used for other purposes. If Public Health is to continue to provide and expand its services, it must recover more of its expenses through fees.

Will the fee increase hurt or discourage our clients?

Public Health has always and will continue to make it very clear to patients and clients that they may receive any service offered, regardless of their ability to pay. Public Health staff will hand each client a bill at the time of service, but will not mail reminders to clients or remind them about unpaid bills when they return for other services.

Every fee sheet and every bill and every announcement about the fees will include this message:

NO ONE WILL BE DENIED ANY SERVICE DUE TO AN INABILITY TO PAY!

###

Download 2005-09-06-fees-PR

Health and Safety Officials Prepare for Arrival of Gulf Coast Evacuees

American Red Cross, United Way, Law Enforcement, Transit and Health and Social Service Providers to Open Service Center for Evacuees

Gulf Coast evacuees are already arriving Champaign County, and health and safety officials are opening an Evacuee Service Center tomorrow to help the new arrivals find shelter, food and other essential services. The Service Center will be open to all Gulf Coast evacuees in Champaign County, even those who are already housed.

The Katrina Evacuee Service Center will open tomorrow at 8 a.m. in Room #403 of the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District Illinois Terminal, 45 E. University, in Champaign. The Center will be open every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. – until the flow of newcomers displaced from areas affected by Hurricane Katrina begins to ebb. The Center will remain open as long as the need continues.

At the Service Center, evacuees from the Gulf Coast will receive assistance from the Central Illinois Chapter of the American Red Cross, the United Way of Champaign County, local medical personnel, Public Health nurses, Salvation Army volunteers and community social workers and mental health providers. Here are some of the services to be provided at the Center:

• The local chapter of the American Red Cross will help evacuees find shelter, food, clothing and referrals to other services.
• Doctors and other medical personnel (from Planned Parenthood, Frances Nelson, Carle Clinic, Carle Foundation Hospital, Christie Clinic, Hermes Medical Student Clinic and others) will offer medical screenings, emergency medicines and prescriptions.
• Nurses from the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District will offer TB tests, Hepatitis A, Tetanus and Diptheria vaccines as needed, as well as referrals to other Public Health services.
• The United Way of Champaign County will provide assistance and referrals to many other community services.
• The local chapter of the Salvation Army and the Champaign County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau will provide information about other community resources.
• Evacuees from the Gulf Coast and others seeking information about services provided locally may call the local chapter of the American Red Cross at (217) 351-5861.

A Champaign County Emergency Response website is also available at: www.cuphd.org/katrinahelp

###

Download 2005-09-06-evacuees-PR