Advancing Health Equity by Improving Health Care Coverage Knowledge and Utilization through Community Partnerships and Engagement

Title: The Asclepius Initiative’s “Promoting Health Equity in Underserved Populations Across the Commonwealth of Kentucky The grant period is January 1, 2025 through May 31, 2026. Proposed Scope of Work for UK Center of Excellence in Rural Health (CERH) as a partner: Review of, and input on, educational materials and methods: CERH will assist The Asclepius Initiative (TAI) personnel with the refinement and delivery of culturally appropriate educational materials and programming that are designed for rural populations living in Kentucky. These materials will include oral presentations, printed, web-based, and video formats. Training the trainers for delivery of information: CERH personnel will be prepared by TAI personnel to deliver information and educational materials about key aspects of health insurance. We envision CERH personnel directly delivering this education and training Trusted Messengers in the community to deliver it (see below). In some circumstances, the Trainers and the Trusted Messengers will be the same individuals. Topics will include: Topics will include: • Health care delivery system terminology • How to understand the major types and sources of health insurance in Kentucky • How eligibility for each of these types of healthcare coverage works • How to understand and anticipate out-of-pocket costs • How restricted provider networks affect access to care and out-of-pocket costs (e.g. premiums, deductibles, co-pays, out-of-network charges • Major factors to consider when choosing health insurance (if the person has any choice) • Reconciling medical bills with Explanation of Benefits and Summary of Benefits and Coverage documents • Understanding Health Savings Accounts, Health Reimbursement Accounts, and Flexible Spending Accounts • Pros and cons of Traditional Medicare vs Medicare Advantage • Impacts of government-based expanded health insurance coverage on COVID-19 prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, and the anticipated effects of stopping that expanded coverage CERH personnel will identify Trusted Messengers, who they will then prepare to deliver information and educational materials to the communities they serve. CERH personnel and Trusted Messengers (e.g. staff, church or school personnel, selected community leaders, healthcare providers, etc) will be asked to deliver information and materials to the people whom they serve or with whom they regularly interact, especially Spanish speaking people, Blacks, and individuals in rural, urban and medically underserved communities. Feedback from CERH: TAI will solicit confidential feedback via meetings and email regarding: • Educational materials developed • Train-the-trainer processes • Their interactions directly with the public and with Trusted Messengers & the Trusted Messengers’ interactions with the target audience (quantity of interactions and their impressions of effectiveness of interactions in terms of uptake and understanding of the information and materials provided). • Learner feedback Expectations: CERH personnel will deliver information and educational materials to the communities they serve Proposed work quantities (targets): • Number of CERH personnel trained by TAI in train-the-trainer mode: • Number (and names) of counties in CERH service area to be included in this education/ materials delivery: • Number of Trusted Messengers prepared and their designations (eg CHW’s, healthcare providers, selected community leaders, etc.) • Estimated number of people in each population of focus reached: • Number of community events or visits per month: • Number and types of locations where CERH will exhibit this information: newsletter to pts and volunteers, website, closed circuit TV