News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Friday December 19th 2025
Access to Health Care Services ”“ Portico Healthnet
By Debra Holmgren, President, Portico Healthnet
Portico Healthnet”'s mission is to increase the number of people in Minnesota with health care coverage. Toward that goal, Portico offers help with applications for government health programs like Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare, and offers an alternative Coverage program to eligible residents in the Twin Cities. Portico is a community-based nonprofit agency. Portico offers these services through generous contributions from hospital and health plan partners, as well as other funding sources in the community.
Allina and Portico have partnered to provide Portico”'s health care coverage program to residents of the east metro area since 1998. Beginning in 2009, Allina increased their support so that Portico was able to offer the Coverage program to residents of the Backyard.
The Coverage program is not insurance, but it does offer payment for primary and preventive medical services, as well as payment for outpatient mental health services and prescription medications. Eligibility is based on level of income as well as living in the Backyard area. The Coverage program has a small monthly participation fee which is also based on income, usually about $25 per month per household. Once enrolled in the program, Portico participants choose a primary care clinic where they can receive all of their non-emergency services, including immunizations, health screenings like mammograms, and appointments for any health issues, including illnesses like diabetes, asthma, and high blood pressure.… Read the rest “Access to Health Care Services ”“ Portico Healthnet”
Themes that Emerged
An assessment team was formed to create a picture of the current state of health and well-being of the residents in the Backyard, engage a broad network of residents in the process, and inform and plan the next steps for The Backyard Initiative. The assessment team included community residents, staff from Allina, the CWC, and Wilder Research. Through 21 Listening Circles and 677 face-to-face, walk-around interviews, three themes began to emerge:
The Power of Interconnectedness. Each dimension of health named in the community definition of health is dependent on the others; one dimension of health cannot be understood or addressed in isolation.
The Power of Relationships. Relationships impact the determinants of health. People know that they need exercise and healthy food, plenty of rest and occasional check-ups to be healthy, but their relationships are crucial to whether they consistently act on that knowledge. Developing healthy relationships between community residents and health care providers is a powerful factor for improving community health outcomes.
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Partners in the Backyard Initiative
Allina Health: The Center for Health Care Research & Innovation researches new care models to transform health and health care and seeks collaborative partnerships as it fosters innovative approaches to providing care.
Cultural Wellness Center: is a non-profit community-based organization dedicated to developing cultural approaches for positively impacting health and health care, economic development, and community building.
Hope Community: A Phillips community development organization committed to deep community engagement. Hope Community led the process of engaging non-profit organizations in the Backyard.
Portico Healthnet: A nonprofit health and human services organization that helps uninsured Minnesotans access affordable health coverage and care.
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