Programs
Care & Coverage
We help uninsured members of our communities receive care through our dues subsidy programs; partnerships with community clinics and public hospitals; participation in government programs; and charity care programs.
Charitable Coverage
Provides health care coverage to uninsured adults and children across the country. We also work with other health plans, medical groups, trade associations, businesses, government organizations, and advocacy groups to build solutions for all uninsured children.
Bridge Program
To help people obtain affordable health care coverage, Kaiser Permanente of Georgia established the Bridge Program for uninsured, income-eligible individuals. A number of community-based organizations partner with us to provide referrals for this program. Partners include work force development agencies, local schools of nursing, and nonprofit organizations.
Through the Kaiser Permanente Bridge Program, eligible individuals with no access to public or private health insurance receive a premium subsidy for up to two years. Kaiser Permanente subsidizes ninety-five percent of the premium, and enrolled members pay the balance. In 2006, Kaiser Permanente enrolled an average of 900 members in the Bridge Program as a community service.
Medical Financial Assistance Program
Improving health care access for those with limited incomes and resources is fundamental to Kaiser Permanente’s mission. Our Medical Financial Assistance program (MFA) helps low-income, uninsured, and underserved patients receive access to care. The program provides temporary financial assistance to patients who receive health care services from our providers, regardless of whether they have health coverage or are uninsured.
Through our charity care program, Kaiser Permanente is committed to
- offering financial counseling to determine if a patient is eligible for public assistance or Kaiser Permanente financial assistance,
- providing affordable care to low-income people for medically necessary services provided at our facilities and through our providers, and
- not taking legal action for nonpayment of medical bills against any person who is unemployed and without other significant income.
Who’s Eligible for Medical Financial Assistance?
- Eligibility is based on financial need. In general, people whose household income is at or below 250 percent, of the federal poverty level are eligible for the MFA program. Families or individuals with higher incomes may qualify on a case-by-case basis.
- Patients who do not qualify for the MFA program, and whose income is at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level, may be eligible for the Discount Payment Program for partial financial assistance.
- Patients who have experienced a catastrophic event may be eligible under special circumstances, regardless of household income.
Please note, the MFA program is not a form of health insurance and can’t be used to subsidize premiums. Read our Medical Financial Assistance Policy.
How do I know if my income level meets the guidelines for Medical Financial Assistance?
View the federal poverty guideline table [PDF 60 KB]
Please note that for uninsured patients, charges for emergency and medically necessary care are limited to no more than amounts generally billed to Kaiser members or the Medicare reimbursement rates.
How can I learn more about the Medical Financial Assistance Program and how to enroll?
To learn more about the MFA program and how to enroll, please read our MFA Brochure or speak with a Financial Counselor at one of our medical centers. You may also call (404) 949-5112.
If you are in need of medical financial assistance, you may apply directly for Kaiser Permanente’s MFA Program. Download the application in the following languages: English, Spanish.
Community Health Initiatives/CHI HEAL
Community Health Initiatives take a prevention-driven approach to health care, focusing on policies and programs that promote healthy eating and active living among community residents.
Belvedere Community Health Initiative
Community Health Initiatives develop long-term programs that engage communities in work to improve the conditions in their neighborhoods, workplaces and schools that can support good health. Last year, after an in-depth review of four neighborhoods, one was selected for a multi-year health initiative. Nestled in South DeKalb County, the Belvedere area includes approximately 8,000 residents, 17 percent of whom live below the poverty line. The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, Inc., Belvedere residents, local organizations, civic leaders and Kaiser Permanente formed a committee to help build a healthier place for residents to live.
Farmers Market
Each year, more than 30,000 people attend Green Market, a Farmers market held every Saturday from May through October, offering a variety of organic fruits, vegetables, fresh cut flowers, baked goods and more. Kaiser Permanente sponsors the Green Market, which takes place at Piedmont Park. In addition to the marketplace, the event offers healthy cooking demonstrations and fitness classes to encourage everyone to get healthy and stay healthy.
Educational Theatre Programs
Kaiser Permanente's Educational Theatre Program helps children, teens and adults to make informed decisions about their health through live performances presented free of charge to schools and community organizations. Programs are usually performed on school campuses and are open to the public.
Give Peas a Chance
For grades 2 - 3
This hour-long interactive puppet show focuses on nutrition, physical activity and obesity prevention while teaching kids how to make healthier nutrition choices and the benefits of physical activity.
ASTHMA
For grades K– 5
Bronchi the Airosauros offers an engaging way for students to learn about asthma. This interactive puppet show teaches children about the effects of asthma on the human body, common triggers and how to avoid them, and the importance of a treatment plan.
Uncle Gherkin's Magical Show
For grades K - 5
The loss of a loved one can be a devastating experience for a child. Uncle Gherkin's Magical Show is a 45-minute program incorporating puppets, audience participation and magic that focuses on the grieving process and helps children understand that what they are feeling is normal. The audience and the characters learn coping skills and come to understand that grieving is an individual process that takes time.
Mumferd's Safety Tales
For grades K– 2
Every child should know to stay safe, especially when it comes to strangers, fire and guns. This 30-minute performance shares important life-saving safety tips with children in a way that will entertain them, too.
Fragments: Impressions of Grief
For Grades 6– Adult
Fragments: Impressions of Grief explores responses people may have to loss, stressing that grief is an individual process that takes time. Common reactions, feelings and fears are shown in a mix of drama and comedy, ending with a message of reflection and hope.
Secrets
For middle school, junior high school, high school, and college students
An HIV/AIDS awareness play, Secrets educates students about the dangers of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases by providing them with a realistic look into the lives of people impacted by the HIV virus. Presenting real situations based on true stories, Secrets is a 45-minute live, theatrical production performed by professional actors who are also trained HIV educators. A 30-minute question and answer period is offered after the performance.
Acting on Stress
For Teachers
This stress management program for teachers portrays real-life situations in today's classroom, such as teacher workload and burnout, student apathy, lack of parental involvement and increased violence in schools.
Acting on Stress
For Employees
Acting on Stress for Employees portrays real-life situations in the workplace that can lead to stress. During the performance, actors address issues such as employee miscommunication, work-overload, and rush-hour traffic and the impact this can have on one's health.
Educational Theatre Program Contact:
Larry Davis, Booking Coordinator
(770) 931-6068
larry.davis@kp.org
Safety Net
Safety Net Partnerships support the work of community clinics, public hospitals and health systems that provide health care to the uninsured or underinsured. We work closely with these safety net organizations to improve the quality and affordability of care, to help build effective infrastructure, and to collaborate on projects that reduce health disparities and promote a community-based system of disease prevention and management. Our goals include improving the quality and affordability of care, to help build effective infrastructure, and to collaborate on projects that reduce health disparities and promote a community-based system of disease prevention and management.
To better understand the safety net infrastructure in Metro Atlanta, Kaiser Permanente Georgia commissioned the Georgia Health Policy Center to conduct a study of safety nets in seven metro area counties.
The study evaluated the supply of and demand for safety net primary care services in those counties and the results were shared with county government leaders and provides the road map of our safety net program and Medicaid strategy, which includes:
- Over $1.2 million in grants to safety net organizations in 2007, including $500,000 for Grady Memorial Hospital's trauma center.
- Developing a specialty referral program for Medicaid patients of select safety net organizations.
- Convening all stakeholders– safety net providers, local government leaders, policy makers and funders to begin to discuss and develop a regional approach to caring for the increasing number of uninsured in Georgia.
Develop and Disseminate Knowledge
We are dedicated to improving health care through research programs, education, and training the health care providers of the future.
Nursing and Pharmacy Scholarships
To help address the shortage of nurses in Georgia, Kaiser Permanente has given nearly $1 million in nursing scholarships to public colleges in the state in the last six years, as well as set up additional endowments at these schools. Unlike scholarships from other health care providers, recipients are not required to work at Kaiser Permanente upon graduation. In addition to nursing, Kaiser Permanente has set up scholarships at the Morehouse School of Medicine and at the Mercer School of Pharmacy.
On a national level, Kaiser Permanente's Institute for Health Policy works to increase understanding of key health policy issues. The Institute's goal is to provide balanced information that is useful to policy makers, researchers, analysts, and others who shape health care policies.
