All Posts By

Peter Korchnak

Client Stories

Michael’s Story: Pride in This Country

Michael Bachar is a client of the Outreach, Enrollment, and Access and Premium Assistance programs. * I’ve lived in Portland for 11 years, work for a small real estate maintenance business. About eight years ago I needed medication for an acute lung condition but I had no health insurance. I ended up going to a community health center off and on…
Peter Korchnak
February 11, 2019
Programs

A Report on the 2018 Open Enrollment Period

Project Access NOW’s Outreach, Enrollment, and Access program (OEA) helped Portland area residents file their applications for health insurance during last year’s open enrollment period. In all, program staff helped clients to file 364 applications for coverage under the Affordable Care Act through the Federal Marketplace. "Health insurance coverage is good for people," said our executive director Linda Nilsen. "Research…
Peter Korchnak
January 30, 2019
Update

A Springboard Year: 2017/2018 Annual Report Out Now

As the year comes to an end and we prepare for the opportunities ahead, I pause to reflect on our progress at Project Access NOW. I invite you to join me in our 2017/2018 Annual Report. Social Determinants of Health The redesign of health care from treating sickness to creating health has been under way for several years. For the…
Peter Korchnak
December 31, 2018
Partner Stories

A Life’s Work: How One Health Insurance Agent Helps the Community

Diane Faligowski is always working. As the owner of the full-service health insurance agency Health Plans in Oregon, she receives over a hundred phone calls every day of the week. The majority come from referring clinics, carriers, community partners such as Project Access NOW, and her low-income clients whom she and her agents enroll in the Marketplace, Medicare, and other…
Peter Korchnak
December 13, 2018
Client Stories

Ann’s Story: “Project Access NOW Saved My Life”

Ann S. was a client of the Premium Assistance program. * Ten years ago Ann S. had an unusual, high-risk cancer. Ann said she approached the experience like an everyday occurrence. She kept the family routines and obligations and did her best to have her life continue as before. Her main concern was that her three young daughters would stay…
Peter Korchnak
December 10, 2018
Client Stories

Rick’s Story: Peace of Mind

Rick is a client of our Premium Assistance program. * When I retired from full-time work six years ago, I lost health insurance through my employer. I started a small business and asked my insurance broker what my options were during the transition. He helped me navigate all the available insurance plans. When he calculated my premium for my wife…
Peter Korchnak
December 6, 2018
Provider Stories

Dr. William Bennetts: Seeing Patients as a Doctor, Not as a Businessman

Dr. William Bennetts has been volunteering to see patients for Project Access NOW since our inception in 2007. His partner at Northwest Gastroenterology Clinic, Dr. Sandy Wilborn, had been the physician we used to screen all gastroenterology consult requests from primary care clinics before scheduling. After Dr. Wilborn fully retired earlier this year, Dr. Bennetts took over this responsibility for…
Peter Korchnak
September 24, 2018
Provider Stories

Dr. Curtis Thompson: Equalizing Healthcare

Dr. Curtis Thompson heads the dermatopathology company CTA Lab, which has participated in Project Access NOW for over a decade. The lab makes diagnoses from biopsies dermatologists and primary care physicians send there for analysis. Easing the Burden While Dr. Thompson or his team don’t see any patients, he says donated lab analysis often takes place at the beginning of…
Peter Korchnak
September 14, 2018
Programs

“What If…”: A Vision of Network of Networks

As they try to get their life together and move forward, the most vulnerable people in our community have to jump through multiple hoops to provide for their families. In every sector—food, healthcare, housing, justice, schooling, transportation—they deal with a different case manager and separate sets of rules and regulations. In other words, the people who need the most support…
Peter Korchnak
September 14, 2018
Programs

Case Study Highlights How We Ensure Safe Hospital Discharges

The Center for Health Care Strategies, an organization which "advances innovations for healthcare delivery for low-income Americans," earlier this month highlighted our C3 Community Assistance Program in the case study titled "Project Access NOW’s C3 Community Assistance Program: Ensuring Safe Discharge from the Hospital." The case study is part of their and Nonprofit Finance Fund's project Advancing Community-Based Organization and…
Peter Korchnak
August 16, 2018