Milwaukee leaders welcome President Obama

I congratulate Milwaukee, and all of the other communities who took part in the challenge, for their passion and innovation in finding ways to make sure they and their neighbors could get the health care and peace of mind that they deserve. That’s what the Affordable Care Act is all about.

The efforts from mayors, local officials, assisters and residents remind me of what’s best in America, and what I see whenever I travel around the country: good people in strong communities who look out for each other and take care of their own. As always, Washington can learn a lot from the communities we represent.

The White House announced the “Healthy Communities Challenge” to engage key communities with large numbers or high percentages of uninsured in states across the country. Based on particularly high opportunity for impact with strong federal, state and community collaboration, the White House reached out to local officials in each of these 20 communities to get their uninsured constituents covered. The lessons learned from every participating community will be invaluable in guiding enrollment efforts nationwide for years to come.

Communities participating in the Healthy Communities Challenge utilized effective practices to increase enrollment during the open enrollment period. Below are just a few of the innovative tactics that participating communities used and that leaders across the country can adopt for future enrollment periods to make sure their constituents get covered.

Mayor Tom Barrett welcomed President Barack Obama to the City of Milwaukee on Thursday, March 3, at the Bruce-Guadalupe Community School. President Obama delivered remarks and congratulate Mayor Barrett and the City of Milwaukee on winning the “Healthy Communities Challenge.”

In November, Mayor Barrett accepted the “Healthy Communities Challenge,” a competition among 20 communities across the U.S. that have high numbers or percentages of Marketplace-eligible uninsured, and have community collaborations willing to make a meaningful impact.

Under the leadership of Mayor Barrett, about 38,000 people in the Milwaukee area newly selected a plan through the Health Insurance Marketplace during this open enrollment period. Together with returning Marketplace consumers, about 89,000 people in the Milwaukee area selected a 2016 Marketplace plan.

“I was thrilled to welcome President Obama to Milwaukee to celebrate our success in the ‘Healthy Communities Challenge.’ Our victory not only shows the success that a collaborative effort can produce, but highlights a much more important message: Today, more Milwaukee-area residents have health insurance coverage than ever before,” Mayor Barrett said. “I am proud of the collaborative effort that took place to increase the number of local residents enrolled in health insurance, and I look forward to showcasing the hard work of the more than 100 partners in the Milwaukee Enrollment Network during this visit.”

The White House announced the “Healthy Communities Challenge” to engage key communities with large numbers or high percentages of uninsured in states across the country. Based on particularly high opportunity for impact with strong federal, state and community collaboration, the White House reached out to local officials in 20 communities to get their uninsured constituents covered.

Mayor Barrett worked extensively to provide community-wide outreach and awareness. The Mayor opened four library branches for enrollment events, partnered with Uber to provide rides to final enrollment events, delivered more than 60,000 flyers to promote enrollment assistance, and coordinated outreach to thousands of residents daily through City departments to get the message out to sign up for healthcare coverage.

Advertising outreach was extensive and was coordinated and funded jointly by the Milwaukee Enrollment Network and City of Milwaukee Health Department. This outreach included 650 traditional radio ads, internet radio ads that received more than 1.9 million impressions and outdoor ads placed on 20 billboards in targeted zip codes.

The Milwaukee Enrollment Network, a coalition of more than 100 agencies, works year-round in support of improving health insurance coverage. Convened by the Milwaukee Health Care Partnership and Covering Wisconsin, the network includes the City of Milwaukee Health Department, area health systems and health centers, community organizations and independent agents and brokers.

Through this collaborative work, outreach, education and enrollment assistance was coordinated to assist residents across the community.

Under Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele’s leadership, Hector Colon, director of Milwaukee County’s Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS), led the charge for the County in ensuring that more people have coverage. The County funds Impact 2-1-1, a social service community hotline, to provide accurate information about healthcare benefit options to individuals looking for help. IMPACT 2-1-1 also provides over-the-phone screening to help make appropriate referrals to enrollment assistance. The County also ran signage advertising this information every day during the open enrollment period on all 200 County-owned and managed buses.

In addition, the County has trained nearly 70 staff members to help clients understand where to go and how to get services through ACA exchanges, including four Certified Application Counselors (CACs), an intake service manager, and two administration coordinators. This staff directly enrolled more than 1800 individuals through programs at the County. Winged Victory, a program funded by the county executive, was also developed to assist individuals with disabilities in applying for benefits and other assistance for which they are available.

“The Affordable Care Act is working, and thanks to President Obama, the Milwaukee area is getting healthier every day,” County Executive Chris Abele said. “I was thrilled to welcome the President to Milwaukee County so he could see firsthand how our broad coalition of healthcare partners has worked together to help people in our community get the coverage they need to live stronger, fuller, healthier lives. I also want to thank my partners on the County Board and the many Milwaukee County employees whose hard work helped make it possible for our community to win the White House Healthy Communities Challenge.”

Recognizing that racial and ethnic minorities are statistically less likely to have access to affordable, comprehensive healthcare, the County took several steps to help ensure full minority inclusion, such as collaboration with, and funding for, community groups like the Black Health Coalition. The Black Health Coalition has done education and outreach at churches, schools, and at-risk facilities around the County, with an added focus on the City’s north side. In addition, the County has partnered with Latino community organizations like Centro Hispano that enhanced outreach and took the lead on the production and dissemination of bilingual literature and educational information.

The Disability Services Division at DHHS funded the Restorative Justice Collective for ACA outreach efforts, including canvasses to thousands of households to inform them about health insurance coverage and phone calls and mailings to County households most likely to be eligible for coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

And at the Milwaukee County House of Correction, nearly 500 inmates so far have been enrolled in insurance through the Affordable Care Act, just since February of 2015. We believe the House is the first, if not only, correctional institution to take this proactive step to helping individuals enroll in healthcare. For many of these individuals it’s the first time they’ve had health insurance. Affordable, comprehensive healthcare is a critical component in these individuals’ participation in other supportive programming offered through the House of Correction, such as AODA treatment, mental health counseling, and peer counseling, that empowers them to live a better life and makes them less likely to reoffend in the future.

These investments are important to the overall health and well-being of our community. However, they have the added benefit of saving taxpayer dollars. To date, Milwaukee County has saved approximately $2 million as a result of the Affordable Care Act.

The visit by President Obama to recognize the City of Milwaukee for winning the “Healthy Communities Challenge,” a competition to increase the number of Health Insurance Marketplace enrollments, is a high honor for our city. However, I would argue it is an even deeper and higher honor for the people of the 12th Aldermanic District, as his visit will feature a stop at one of our very best community assets – the United Community Center.

I am very proud of the effort that was put forth to win the challenge and to make the President’s visit to Milwaukee a prestigious event, and I want to thank all of the people and agencies who worked so diligently to bring us the Healthy Communities Challenge win. Enrolling previously uninsured individuals for health care coverage across Milwaukee is truly positive and will help improve the overall health and quality of life in our city.