The Houston Health (HHD) requests City Council to approve an ordinance authorizing the appropriation and transfer of $400,000 from the Contractor’s Responsibility Fund (Fund 2424) to the Health Special Revenue Fund (Fund 2002) for the provision of services under the Care Houston Program. On April 18, 2012 the Office of Business Opportunity and HHD agreed that up to $400,000, based on availability of funds, of the Contractor's Responsibility Fund would be would be appropriated annually for the Care Houston Program. This ordinance is for the approval of the FY’16 appropriation.
The Contractor's Responsibility Fund is the fund for the City’s Pay or Play (POP) program which mandates city contractors to either offer their employees a minimum level of health insurance or contribute toward the “Contractor's Responsibility Fund” to defray the costs of providing healthcare to uninsured people in the Houston and Harris County area.
The Care Houston Program is a collaborative between the Houston Fire Department (HFD) and HHD to decrease non-emergency calls for emergency medical services (EMS). The program requires EMS to identify residents who have made non-emergency calls to 911 and forward that information to HHD. HHD staff contacts the resident and if she/he agrees to participate in the program, a nurse case manager makes a home visit, conducts a needs assessment, assists the resident in devising a service plan, and provides social and medical referrals as needed.