CCN’s dedication to provide healthcare access began over 10 years ago as weekly health screenings in Chicago’s at-risk communities, for those who lacked health insurance. With the detection of increasing numbers of patients with underlying illness and need for follow-up care, CCN then introduced an innovative option for affordable access to a medical home – the CCN Network. This network – a team that grew to over 200 providers along with partnering labs and imaging centers – came together as a team dedicated to providing low cost services to the uninsured. Before the advent of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), for a modest $10 per month, patients were able to choose a medical home near them which provided both primary and subspecialty continuity of care, eliminating ER visits and geographic challenges if a free health clinic wasn’t nearby. Today, a sizeable number of those who are not eligible under the Affordable Care Act, particularly in immigrant communities, still depend upon CCN for a medical home.
Since the passing of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, we have transitioned also to becoming a national leader in enrolling Americans into the newly available insurance plans, registering thousands in Chicago’s at-risk communities.
Our weekly health screening programs continue to be central to our mission of preventative care. Not only do they provide early detection of disease, but they also serve as an entry point for health education and a medical home, by providing a site for enrolling either in the CCN Network or Obamacare at the same time as screening..