Guest Author
There is a lot of change happening in health care and government, but there always is. In these ongoing times of uncertainty, programs such as Community Health Centers should be heralded as successes for their return on investment, high-quality outcomes, and fiscal resilience.
However, these same Health Centers are facing a number of challenges related to funding, reimbursement, workforce, and collaborations that threaten current service levels, much less the implementation of any further expansion.
If Community Health Centers are the solution to expanding primary care and cutting health care costs in Florida, why are so many facing difficult decisions regarding workforce capacity and scope of services?
Finding sustainable ideas and initiatives enables individuals and communities to build and improve upon experiences and efforts.
One sustainable program that has become a necessary part of the foundation of health care in Florida is primary care. Community Health Centers are the vehicle for providing and expanding this program throughout Florida.
While you may not be aware of your local Community Health Center, over 700 service locations currently treat 1.8 million patients from all 67 counties, providing a $3.3 billion economic impact.
Services include medical, dental, and behavioral health, along with a variety of additional specialties and support services that differ by site. Patients come from all walks of life — low-income and affluent, employed and unemployed, with or without health insurance, rural and urban.
Community Health Centers are, in fact, a 60-year-old efficient and effective health care program and resource. This sounds like a great resource, vital to any community’s success, right?
While Florida’s Community Health Centers continue to advocate for appropriate federal funding, they are also pursuing an increase in the state Medicaid reimbursement rate.
A recent analysis indicated that the current state average reimbursement was approximately $90 below the average visit cost. No business can sustain such a business model.
Recognizing patients’ increasing needs, health centers have identified and utilized other revenue sources to make up this gap.
One such source is 340B, a pharmaceutical program that allows select providers to realize savings in purchasing and delivering discounted medicine to patients. While Community Health Centers account for a mere 5% of the 340B program nationally, this resource is now under scrutiny, if not outright attack, to further restrict providers’ utilization.
The uncertainty at the federal level has motivated two-thirds of the states, including Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Maryland, Minnesota and West Virginia, to implement 340B protections to ensure entities like Community Health Centers have the protection they need to sustain their operations and continue to provide high-quality, affordable health care to everyone.
These financial concerns are simultaneously experienced while patients, payers, and partners assume increased responsibilities, causing Community Health Centers to deplete their reserves to continue providing services and cover day-to-day operational costs.
Health Centers participate in value-based initiatives, are the most transparent providers in terms of quality outcomes and operational data, implement technology, expand telehealth capacity, increase hours of service, and struggle to attract the most talented providers and staff.
So, I ask again, why are there so many challenges to recognizing appropriate state and federal support?
Community Health Centers are much more than “just part” of the health care safety net; they are a cornerstone of everyone’s daily lives.
Shown repeatedly, they enable a healthy workforce while creating savings to the state’s health care system by reducing costs associated with emergency room visits for non-urgent conditions, investing in programs that treat the root cause of a medical condition through nutrition and mental health programs, and making services available to everyone.
Health Centers require and deserve pertinent funding and policy support to preserve effectiveness, increase efficiency, and maintain affordability.
It simply benefits us all.
___
Jonathan Chapman is president and CEO of the Florida Association of Community Health Centers (FACHC).
