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HomeHealth Care for Impoverished Women

Proceedings from and next steps for

Health Care for Impoverished Women in Michigan in an Era of Health Care Reform

A Collaboration of the University of Michigan School of Social Work and the Nokomis Foundation

April 15-16, 2010

at the University of Michigan School of Social Work

Message from the Organizers

Dear Colleagues,

This web page is designed to provide tools and information to encourage the discussion and enactment of policies designed to improve health care for low-income women. In the process, we expect that the ideas developed here will improve health care for everyone.

The Nokomis Foundation and the University of Michigan School of Social Work recently (April, 2010) sponsored a working forum to produce a platform of health policy alternatives and recommendations related to low-income women's well-being. This effort stemmed from a Listening and Learning Tour which the Nokomis Foundation undertook in the preceding year. Women across the state identified health among other issues, as critical in their well-being.

The forum concentrated on four health issues of specific consequence to low-income women living in the State of Michigan - Reproductive Health; Management of Chronic Health Conditions; Mental Health; and Responsibility for the Health of Dependents.

A group of experts was convened for presentations on the current state of women's health in Michigan. Following these presentations the group met in four smaller groups on the above topic areas to develop policy proposals in each of these areas.

Background presentations to the group included:

• Poverty in Michigan (PDF, 873k) - Sheldon Danziger, National Poverty Center
• Women's Health Status in Michigan (PDF, 204k)- Jean Chabut, Michigan Department of Community Health
• Policies in Other States (PDF, 1MB) - Susan Wood, George Washington University Medical Center
• Creating Context in Michigan: State Implications of National Health Care Reform (PDF, 1MB) - Marianne Udow-Phillips, Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation with a panel discussion including Thomas Simmer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, and Stephen Fitton, Michigan Department of Community Health

With these as context, each working group developed a platform of policy initiatives to improve women's health in the context of welfare reform.

The reports were presented to a broader audience of experts from agencies, state government, and advocacy groups, who proposed additional ideas. These ideas are included in the final reports from each group:

• Management of Chronic Health Conditions (PDF, 61k)
• Mental Health (PDF, 76k)
• Reproductive Health (PDF, 84k)
• Responsibility for the Health of Dependents (PDF, 68k)

Many of these ideas have been further developed into policy briefs.

In the process of our conversations on these issues, we have also accumulated a library of information. Many of our colleagues are eager to learn in more detail how health reform will roll out. The following two web sites provide detailed and updated calendars:

• Timeline for Health Care Reform Implementation: Health Insurance Provisions
• Health Reform Implementation Timeline from the Kaiser Family Foundation

We hope you will join us in continuing to work on the reforms in health care policy that will improve the lives of low income women in Michigan, and others in Michigan and across the country.

In partnership,