New changes to eligibility criteria will help provide access for more Jefferson County residents who need services at Cooper Green Mercy Health Services Authority.

Approved by the Jefferson County Commission, Cooper Green will evaluate income based on the individual person seeking to enroll, rather than the income of the household in which the person resides. Formerly, Cooper Green followed the federal definition of household income, which compares the sum of all working adults in the household’s income to the Federal Poverty Guidelines.

With the change, a person meets the criteria to be enrolled in low- or no-cost plans at Cooper Green, if they make $29,160 a year or less.

This eligibility change coincides with the building of a new Cooper Green facility set to open in early 2025. These requirement changes and the new facility will enable providers to care for more patients than the 6,300 county residents that Cooper Green serves today.