This week, August 4 through August 10, 2024, marks a significant but often overlooked observance: National Health Center Week. It’s a time to recognize the pivotal role that community health centers play in our healthcare system, particularly in elevating accessibility and affordability. Community Health Centers (CHCs) serve as a critical resource, as one in eleven Americans receives their primary care at a CHC. Closer to home, Mountain Family Health Centers, a CHC, serves over 15,000 patients.
In our nation’s complex and flawed healthcare system, community health centers like Mountain Family Health Centers (MFHC) shine as a beacon of high-quality, affordable care. CHCs, also known as Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), operate as nonprofit facilities that provide primary care services to everyone, regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay. This commitment to inclusivity and comprehensive care is a cornerstone of CHCs, including MFHC.
Mountain Family exemplifies our dedication to this vision by providing our patients medical, dental, and behavioral health care services. This integrated approach enhances patient convenience and ensures holistic treatment that addresses physical and mental health needs.
We at Mountain Family believe that our healthcare delivery model, using an integrated approach, not only provides exceptional care to our patients but is more economical. This belief is validated by a recent Colorado Community Health Network analysis utilizing Health Care Policy and Financing Medicaid claims data. This analysis examined the Total Cost of Care for Medicaid patients served by Colorado’s Community Health Centers. Total Cost of Care is a useful metric as it provides a comprehensive view of all factors leading to rising healthcare costs in our country. These factors can include the health of a population, how often people visit a healthcare provider or fill a prescription, the price of those services, and the impact of a provider’s services on health and expenses.
According to the Colorado Community Health Network analysis CHC’s provide cost-effective primary care that generates significant savings to the state and broader healthcare system. These savings represent more cost-effective upfront services, including primary care, diabetes and hypertension management, and behavioral health services, which, when delivered efficaciously, can prevent future specialty, inpatient, and pharmacy costs.
The CCHN analysis indicates that, on average, Medicaid members served by CHCs incur $5,034 annually (figures have been risk-adjusted to account for higher acuity patients). In contrast, Medicaid patients served by non-CHC primary care providers incur $6,390 in health care costs annually. Even without risk adjusting, CHCs save the state $636 for every member served. Mountain Family delivers similar results, with the total cost of our patients served being $5,584 annually.
We believe these cost savings result from MFHC effectively managing chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and asthma, reducing the need for costly emergency room visits that burden the healthcare system. We also screen for common cancers like cervical, prostate, and colorectal, which raise everyone’s healthcare costs if they aren’t detected early.
This high-quality care is available to any community member regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay. Unfortunately, over 2,000 of our patients have lost their Medicaid coverage over the past year, primarily due to the end of continuous Medicaid eligibility in May 2023.
Financial barriers are a harsh reality for many of MFHC’s patients, exacerbated by our area’s high cost of living. Allocating expenses for health and wellness is particularly challenging for our working families, with 48% of our patients being uninsured and 26% on Medicaid. To ensure equitable access to these medical services, MFHC offers a Sliding Fee Discount Program that goes up to 400% of the federal poverty level. Many community members cannot afford health insurance through the Colorado Marketplace or their employer. The need for this program underscores the financial challenges our patients face and the importance of our work in providing affordable care to our community. Beyond affordability and despite our short-term financial challenges with the sharp increase of uninsured patients, we remain optimistic about our patient-centered care delivery model.
In an era of vast and complex healthcare challenges, community health centers like Mountain Family are a valuable societal resource for a thriving community and healthy workforce. This week, let’s celebrate the impact of CHCs, reaffirm our commitment to accessible, affordable healthcare for every individual, and recognize the invaluable contributions of organizations like MFHC. We provide essential healthcare services and embody the principles of compassion, equity, and community stewardship. To learn more about Mountain Family’s services or ways to support us, visit our website at mountainfamily.org. We welcome the community’s feedback and partnership.