Ka
and her husband Joseph have their hands
full. They both work full-time and then devote the rest of their day
to raising eight children, whose ages range from 18 months to 16 years.
Ka has worked as a customer service representative with
a St. Paul bank for 14 years. Joseph is a securities banker in downtown
St. Paul. They love their jobs despite the fact their combined salaries
are stretched to the limit just to meet the basic needs of their
large family.
A few years ago, Ka discovered they
could no longer afford the health insurance
offered through her work. That's when
her clinic referred her to Portico.
The Portico care management coordinator
soon discovered that the children would
be eligible for MinnesotaCare based
on the combined family income and helped
them to apply. A couple of months later,
the children were enrolled in MinnesotaCare.
Meanwhile, Ka and Joseph enrolled in
the Portico program. "I like the Portico program very much," said
Ka. "It's a good program that we need."
At any given point, Portico has approximately 1000 participants. However,
the program enrolls more people throughout the year. Many of the
participants are between jobs, or are like Ka and her husband, who
are facing a difficult period of transition that has left them without
health coverage.
