ACAP Awards Scholarship to Nashua Teen

The Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP) today announced that Caitlin Neary has won its fourth annual Scholarship Essay Contest. Neary, a student at MCPHS University, participated in the contest through Well Sense Health Plan of New Hampshire. Ms. Neary is working towards a premedical degree at MCPHS University in Boston in preparation to work as a physician assistant.

Ms. Neary’s essays describe how physicians in Well Sense’s network helped her to get healthy and stay that way through the effective management of her asthma medication—and it provided significant financial protection for her family such that she could not only afford effective medication, but devote time to her studies and volunteer in the community as she works toward a master’s degree at MCPHS.

“Well Sense Health Plan is dedicated to helping our members lead healthy, productive lives,” said Well Sense Health Plan President Susan Coakley. “And we’re absolutely inspired by Caitlin, who I know will excel in the career path she pursues.”

Ms. Neary was honored today at a ceremony at the offices of BMC HealthNet Plan in Boston, which operates Well Sense Health Plan.

“We’re delighted to honor Caitlin today with our scholarship,” said Margaret A. Murray, ACAP CEO. “And we’re proud of the innovative approaches that Safety Net Health Plans such as Well Sense take in helping people to get healthy and stay healthy—so that their members, like Caitlin, can get the most out of the opportunities afforded by life.”

“It also shows the power of safety net programs in helping people in need to take control and change their lives for the better. That’s why it’s so critical that Federal policymakers preserve and protect safety net programs such as Medicaid – and that policymakers in states understand how the Medicaid program creates jobs and promotes economic mobility. Our honoree today is living proof.”

Previous scholarship honorees have included applicants from Denver, Chicago, and the San Joaquin Valley in California. ACAP will call for entries for its 2015 Scholarship Essay Contest next spring.

About ACAP

ACAP represents 58 nonprofit Safety Net Health Plans in 24 states, which collectively serve more than ten million people enrolled in Medicaid, Medicare, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and other public health programs. For more information, visit www.communityplans.net.

Photo Attached Courtesy of Well Sense (Left – Right)

Susan Coakley, Well Sense Health Plan President

Caitlin Neary, ACAP Scholarship Winner

Margaret Murray, ACAP