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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Beyond Coverage: Improving MN Health More than Just Insurance

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Monday, May 18, 2015   

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Great gains have been made in recent years to push Minnesota's uninsured rate to its lowest level in history, but many challenges remain in making that equate to a healthier state.

Allison Corrado, program officer with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation, says gaining insurance is an essential step, but the foundation is also funding programs to help people access care, because coverage alone will not lead to the desired improvements in health outcomes.

"This Beyond Coverage grants program really focuses on 'What's next? What can people do after they get health care insurance to reach their full health potential,'" says Corrado.

More than 95 percent of Minnesotans are currently insured, but Corrado notes many of the newly covered, along with the still uninsured, don't really know how to navigate what can be a complicated health care system.

Corrado says that's why the Beyond Coverage efforts are focused on building community support to help connect people to the proper care and resources. That's especially important for the state's immigrants and refugees, according to Lillian McDonald, executive director with grantee ECHO Minnesota.

"There's language barriers, cultural context barriers and the health care system has its own systemic barriers as well," says McDonald. "That's where the potential is, by bringing our communities together and by bringing the mainstream systems together we can create change so that the two of them can coexist."

To help bridge that cultural and communication gap, ECHO Minnesota will be producing videos in multiple languages on how to access and navigate the health care system, along with school curriculum to be piloted in English classes for immigrants and refugees.


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