HEALTH
United Way works for a healthier America
Whether it is a neighbor without health insurance, a victim of abuse, or someone struggling with mental illness or an addiction, United Ways are working to ensure everyone has access to affordable and quality care.
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Our Goal
Since 2008, we’ve been working to achieve our bold goal: to increase by one-third the number of youth and adults who are healthy and avoid risky behaviors.
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Our Strategy
Achieving our goal requires us all to become more aware of health risks and the potential effects they have on ourselves and others, starting from before birth. Working to change policies and practices, such as extending health care coverage, will enable more people to live healthier lives.
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Health Facts
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More than 33% of children and adolescents are overweight or obese. That’s 25 million kids and teenagers.
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Children with health coverage are better prepared to learn in school and succeed in life.1
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The number of Americans without health insurance has increased steadily since the beginning of the century, now totaling about 47 million. More than 80% are working families.2
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8.7 million children live without health insurance – more than the total number enrolled in the first and second grades in U.S. public schools.3
Sources
(1) Institute of Medicine. From Neurons to Neighborhood: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Washington DC: National Academies Press, 2000.)
(2) Employee Benefit Research Institute estimates from the March Current Population Survey, 2007 Supplement.
(3)Compiled by the State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC), University of Minnesota School of Public Health, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey 2007.
Our Health Programs
FamilyWize
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FamilyWize Community Service Partnership, an organization focused on improving the health and well-being of individuals, families and communities provides local residents access to a free, easy to use prescription savings card that to date has helped more than 8.4 million Americans save more than $857 million on their prescriptions.
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No one should be forced to choose between paying for food, rent or medicine because of the high cost of prescriptions. That’s why United Way of Sumter, Clarendon and Lee Counties has partnered with FamilyWize to distribute free prescription savings cards to everyone in our community.
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FamilyWize cards can immediately lower the cost of medicine by an average of 42 percent or more for people without insurance or who take medications not covered by their plan. Just by presenting the FamilyWize card at their local pharmacy, customers save on the cost of their prescription medicine, no strings attached.
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The FamilyWize prescription savings card can be used by anyone, including people with out insurance and people with insurance but have high deductibles. The FamilyWize Prescription Savings Card has unlimited use, does not require any personal information from the user and has no eligibility criteria.
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To take advantage of the savings that FamilyWize offers, you can print a card from FamilyWize.org, can call 1-800-222-2818 and request a card to be sent to you, or can download the free FamilyWize app.
