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Feature

MedLink advocates for improved access to care in Mecklenburg County through education, communication and collaboration among
service providers. They envision a community in which all residents have access to collaborative health care, and MedLink will be recognized

as an advocate for improved access in Mecklenburg County and as the premier resource for issues related to access to care. MedLink
partners include representatives from local health safety net providers who provide or support the delivery of healthcare services. Meetings for
MedLink partners are held the second Tuesday of each month at 8:30 a.m. at Community Care Partners of Greater Mecklenburg (CCPGM), 4701
Hedgemore Drive in Charlotte. You also can participate via teleconference. For more information, call 704-336-4700. MedLink partners include:

Care Ring access to health care and public services. The Center provides direct
representation for individuals and uses systemic advocacy strategies to
For more than six decades Care Ring has pursued its mission to help change the rules, procedures and practices of federal and state agencies
individuals with limited resources in Charlotte to establish and maintain to ensure access to health care for all. The Center also has a growing
good health. Medical Legal Partnership with Carolinas HealthCare System, as well
as a large Health Insurance Navigator project, providing free in-person
The Care Ring Low-Cost Clinic offers affordable, accessible care in health insurance assistance at locations across the county.
Uptown. The comprehensive chronic disease management program at
the clinic helps patients get and stay on a path to wellness. The Physicians Combining on-the-ground consumer contact with in-house expertise,
Reach Out program continues to provide low-income, uninsured residents Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy has identified barriers for
in Mecklenburg County access to an array of important specialty services, Medicaid and Marketplace applicants and has successfully negotiated
courtesy of more than 1,500 remarkable volunteer physicians and dentists policy changes. This work has improved the overall health and financial
from across the county. The Nurse-Family Partnership program continues stability of low-income, underserved populations in North Carolina.
its growth, now serving well over 200 families across the county. Nurses For example, the Center recently obtained significant changes in policy
on the team visit expectant mothers in their homes to prepare them for at both the state and federal level to increase coverage under Medicaid,
successful births. CHIP and Marketplace plans, particularly for immigrants, pregnant
women and children. It also has successfully challenged harmful
Care Ring continues to go beyond its walls to serve its neighbors practices in current N.C. Medicaid managed care systems for behavioral
in need, establishing partnerships and joint programs with agencies health, particularly for persons with developmental disabilities and for
across the city. It now offers regular educational and referral Medicaid recipients seeking services at home instead of institutional
opportunities for residents in the Grier Heights neighborhood needing settings. As North Carolina prepares for a dramatic change in its
access to care. Some of their Nurse-Family Partnership mothers Medicaid delivery system, Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy is
receive housing assistance to live at Renaissance West, a neighborhood working with statewide partners to protect beneficiary rights and ensure
employing a holistic community redevelopment approach. In an consumer voices are heard throughout the 1115 Waiver transformation.
effort to improve outcomes for those most in need, it has entered
into a formal partnership with Crisis Assistance Ministry to track Low-income patients who have received a denial or termination of
some of the clients they jointly serve. Early signs are quite positive, Medicaid and/or Medicaid services should contact Charlotte Center
with families receiving significant rent, utility assistance and related for Legal Advocacy by calling 704-376-1600. Individuals in need
essential needs from Crisis, and also reaching important health of in-person help with an application for Medicaid or Marketplace
milestones (such as ensuring children receive well-child health care coverage can schedule an appointment through the statewide navigator
visits) through the Care Ring connections. appointment hotline at 1-855-733-3711.

Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy Matthews Free Medical Clinic

For the past 50 years, the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, Matthews Free Medical Clinic (MFMC) is a nonprofit 501(c)3
formerly Legal Services of Southern Piedmont, has provided civil legal corporation that provides free, quality health care to low-income,
assistance services for low-income people in the Charlotte area. There uninsured patients in Matthews and surrounding areas, including
is only one legal aid attorney per 15,000 low-income people in North Mecklenburg and Union counties. MFMC is not a walk-in clinic. In
Carolina — compared to one private attorney for every 442 people. The order to verify that residential and financial requirements are met,
Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy’s staff and other local attorneys patients must go through a new patient screening prior to receiving a
who participate in its pro bono program address a critical gap between primary care provider and other specialty, ancillary and educational
access and resources in the community. services. Patients must live in Mecklenburg or Union County, be at or
below 200 percent of the federal poverty level for their household size
The Center’s Family Support and Health Care Program advocates for and be uninsured.
the rights of low-income families seeking access to health care.
Legal work focuses on public benefits assistance to ensure children, the
elderly, disabled persons, immigrants and their families have fair

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