AUBURN – Cathy Nutter wasn’t surprised when her nurse practitioner recommended she get blood tests to check her cholesterol, lipids and liver function.
Her primary physician had made the same recommendation months earlier.
But with two children to support, a pile of bills to pay and no health insurance, Nutter had no choice but to put the tests in the “sometime down the road” category.
She simply could not afford the $245 bill.
It was a difficult decision that Kathy Coleman, a nurse practitioner at Tri-County Health Services, has seen dozens of women make: groceries or a mammogram? The phone bill or medication to treat a reoccurring urinary tract infection?
In the past, Coleman often offered to help pay for the tests or the medication with her own money.
She no longer has to do that.
Two years ago, the members of the advisory group for Tri-County Health Services started a fund to help patients pay for services they cannot afford, either because they don’t have insurance, their plan only covers catastrophic illnesses or their deductibles are too high.
They called it the IRIS – I’m Really In need of Services – Fund.
The six-member group and the staff at Tri-County Health Services worked together to raise $5,000 for 2004. The money helped dozens of women pay for everything from thyroid tests to sessions with mental health counselors.
Nutter was one of them.
The 39-year-old mother of two nearly cried when Coleman made the offer.
“I looked at her dumbfounded,” Nutter said. “I was like, How could I say no?'”
Along with many others who have benefited from the IRIS Fund, Nutter works part time. She makes too much money to qualify for MaineCare, but not enough to afford the $134 a month it would cost to join her company’s health insurance plan.
So she’s gotten by with the basics: her annual gynecological exam and emergency visits to her primary care physician.
Nutter’s recent blood work revealed that her cholesterol, lipids and liver function are at healthy levels. Still, she said, the peace of mind was well worth the $122 of the lab bill that she agreed to pay.
“You can’t even imagine the relief,” she said.
This year, Tri-County Health Services hopes to help even more patients. The advisory group hopes to double the fund, bringing the total to $10,000.
“We’re trying to build a network of people who are concerned about women falling through the cracks,” said Patience Johnson, an Androscoggin County commissioner and a member of Tri-County’s advisory group.
Women need the IRIS Fund for many reasons, Coleman said.
Some are between jobs. Some have recently relocated. Some have lost their insurance due to a divorce, and others work for companies that don’t offer insurance. The fund also helps teens who don’t have insurance through their parents.
The list of covered services includes gynecological testing and treatment, lab testing for anemia, cholesterol, diabetes and other problems, initial visits with licensed counselors, refills on standing medication orders and samples of medications to treat anxiety and depression.
The process is simple. If a care provider recommends a service that a patient of Tri-County Health Services cannot afford, Coleman can offer the IRIS fund to cover all or part of the bill.
“There is very little bureaucracy,” Coleman said.
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