Curious about Project Access Northwest and our programs? We've collected answers to our most frequently asked questions below.
Still have questions? Email us at info@projectaccessnw.org.
Project Access Northwest is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that helps provide specialty health care to uninsured and under-insured, low-income residents of King, Snohomish and Kitsap counties. Project Access Northwest depends on physicians, dentists (to qualifying Northwest Kidney Center patients), community partners and hospitals volunteering their time and services to see patients for free. Project Access Northwest offers innovative programs such as Care Coordination and Premium Assistance.
As a patient, you cannot apply directly to Project Access Northwest. Instead, you should seek a referral from your primary health care provider. If he or she determines that you need specialty care and qualify for our programs, he or she can complete a patient referral form.
Don't have a primary health care provider? We encourage you to visit a community health center near you.
To qualify for participation in Project Access Northwest patients must meet the following eligibility criteria:
Project Access will determine status of your referral when we have everything we need to complete the review. A complete referral requires a completed enrollment form, a completed referral from your primary care provider as well as supporting financial, if uninsured, and medical documentation. Generally speaking, a majority will be reviewed and a determination made within 30 days.
Sometimes a billing error occurs and you may receive a bill. If you receive a bill, please contact Project Access Northwest at 206-788-4204 or you can fax it to us at 206-382-3507. Most times, we can simply ask that billing be “written off.” On occasion, services may not be available through Project Access Northwest and you may have to pay for the service. We can help you work with the provider to apply for charity care.
Our volunteer providers do not charge any money for their services. If you have Medicaid, our providers will bill Medicaid and be reimbursed. On occasion, services may not be available through Project Access Northwest and you may have to pay for the service.
We cannot give a specific answer. Services provided are not urgent or emergent and we work with providers to obtain the first available appointment. If the provider’s office is booking out, your appointment will be booked out.
No. Project Access Northwest is not a medical provider group. Project Access coordinates specialty care with providers in the community who have agreed to you see you for your medical or dental need. Keep in mind that your primary care provider must make a referral to us.
Project Access Northwest coordinates medical services in King, Kitsap and Snohomish counties. Additionally it coordinates dental services for Northwest Kidney Center clients who need clearance for kidney transplants.
On an individual and as-needed basis, Project Access Northwest provides interpretative services.
No. The average enrollment in Project Access
Northwest is approximately six months. Patients are rescreened for eligibility yearly if their specialty care is not yet complete.
Project Access Northwest can help patients access a wide range of medical care. The list of specialties will vary depending on availability of providers.
Project Access Northwest may also cover laboratory tests, diagnostic imaging and x-rays and durable medical equipment, if donated.
Please note that Project Access Northwest does not cover Emergency Room visits, ambulance expenses or prescription medication.
We welcome doctors, dentists and clinicians referring
others to Project Access Northwest! In fact, that’s how
dozens of our volunteer providers have joined us.
If you have a professional colleague interested in volunteering, please call H. Scott Shurtleff, Operations Director, at 206-496-1592. OR e-mail us at info@projectaccessnw.org, and we’ll contact your colleague to invite his or her participation.
Each Project Access Northwest patient signs a “Patient Responsibility” form that clearly states the patient will be unenrolled for failure to keep appointments and/or follow the provider’s instructions. Project Access Northwest will leave it to the discretion of each provider to determine if a patient is non- compliant. If you’ll communicate to us that there is an issue, we will take appropriate action.
There is a brief “Specialty Care Follow-up Form” to complete after each patient appointment. You will get the form to complete each time Project Access Northwest schedules a patient for a visit at your office. Fax this completed form(s) to (206) 382-3507 or (800) 579-1494. For any hospital admissions, please inform a Project Access Northwest care coordinator by calling (206) 788-4204 or (360) 579-1494.
The community clinics have stepped forward and committed to provide access to the lowest cost medications available to Project Access Northwest’s patients through their 340B pricing.
Due to federal regulations, these are available only to patients who get their primary care in a community clinic or public health clinic. To obtain discounted prices on medications, Project Access NW patients must have prescriptions filled through their community health center pharmacies.
If your office dispenses medication samples, we encourage you to provide these for Project Access Northwest patients as you would for other patients.
For those patients needing medications for chronic conditions, the community clinics will assist them in completing the Prescription Assistance Program paperwork.
Specialists are asked to pledge to accept an
average of two new patients per month (24/year).
Each specialist determines what number of new
patients per month he or she will see.
Specialists will only see the patient for the specific referral request, and no other health issue. We ask primary care physicians to see one new patient per month and address all the patient’s primary care needs.
Premium Assistance is a program of Project Access Northwest, funded by hospital systems and other partners to help ensure that low-income people have insurance that is affordable. To date, the program has served 773 households. The number served is based on the amount of funding committed to the program on a yearly basis.
Current Premium Assistance funders include:
• CHI Franciscan Health
• MultiCare Health System
• Providence Health & Services
• A Washington state resident (not eligible for Apple Health/Medicaid or Medicare) looks for individual health insurance on the Health Benefit Exchange.
• The individual finds the cost is a significant barrier to enrolling and cannot afford the premiums.
• The individual is referred to the Premium Assistance program by one of the funding partners.
• The Premium Assistance Program determines that the person is eligible and meets all program criteria.
• Project Access Northwest staff members work with the individual to enroll. The Premium Assistance Program pays all premiums (one policy year) for the Silver Level Plan the individual chooses.
The Affordable Care Act requires that all people have health care insurance. Access to health care insurance helps ensure that people can get the services they need, including primary care, specialty care and other related services.
To enroll in this program, you must:
• Be a Washington state resident who lives at or below 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. See detailed guidelines at hhs.gov.
• Be eligible to purchase insurance in the Washington Health Benefits Exchange.
• Be referred to Project Access Northwest by one of our Premium Assistance partners.
• Share information available to the Exchange with Project Access Northwest.
• Agree to use all eligible Tax Credits toward health care policy premium.
• Update your eligibility information, such as income and family size, on the Exchange throughout the policy year.
• File federal income taxes to qualify for a tax subsidy. (If married, file jointly.)