For Those Who Help
The number of uninsured Virginians is growing at an alarming pace. Fewer employers are offering health insurance benefits to their employees and health insurance premiums are increasingly unaffordable.
Compounding the problem is the fact that many Virginians live in communities with a shortage of doctors, dentists, nurse practitioners, hygienists and other providers. There are too few providers to care for all the people who need help — insured or not.
How is VHCF helping?
VHCF supports health safety net providers through education and training sessions, such as mental health and nurse practitioner roundtables, and Leading Change in the Health Safety Net, a specialized symposium for leaders of Virginia safety net providers.
Through grantmaking and innovative initiatives, the Virginia Health Care Foundation plays a pivotal role in helping to make primary care and essential medications available to all who need them.
- VHCF grants totaling more than $36.8 million have increased access to medical, dental and mental health care for uninsured Virginians and have made more than 1.7 million patient visits possible.
- VHCF has invested nearly $28 million in Virginia’s health safety net, increasing the number of providers from 33 to 194.
- VHCF’s Children’s Health Insurance Initiative has been a vital partner in the effort to enroll eligible children in state-sponsored health insurance (FAMIS and FAMIS Plus). VHCF projects enabled the enrollment of 50,000 children.
- The Pharmacy Connection, VHCF’s flagship program to obtain free medications for eligible uninsured Virginians, has provided more than 181,000 uninsured Virginians with more than $688 million in free prescription medications.
