Provide services at a reasonable cost. Combine health and social services, to ensure that patients basic needs are met. Find a dedicated funding source achieved by persuading the Florida state legislature to designate one half of 1 percent of the county s infrastructure sales tax solely for this program. Serve residents with income up to 100 percent of the federal poverty level. To accomplish this, the county has created a true public-private partnership.
Participants now go to their primary-care physicians instead of the emergency room.
The program has reduced hospital admissions for complications of chronic diseases dramatically. Enrollment reached 29,000 members in 1997, and stands at 85 percent of county residents at or below the poverty level. The program will be expanding to include more people and more services. The next step is to enroll the working poor, defined as residents making up to 150 percent of the federal poverty level another 25,000 individuals. We want to continue looking at the individual, and make a difference in their lives, so we can have greater productivity, and a more vibrant workforce in the community, said Johnson.