Community Health Centers (CHCs) are essential lifelines for many rural and urban communities in the country. However, CHCs across the country are experiencing severe adverse effects as the federal government continues to “relax” Medicaid retention policies.
According to a report from Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborator, CHC is expected to lose the ability to care for up to 2.1 million patients, and up to 2.5 million CHC patients may lose Medicaid coverage due to the end of continued enrollment. The economic impact of these events is staggering and could result in a loss of $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion in patient revenues, equivalent to about 5.5% of his total CHC revenues. To do. Patients will be greatly affected as CHC needs to drastically reduce the number of patients from 1.2 million to 2.1 million. CHC’s staff will also be affected, with a possible reduction of 10,700 to 18,500.
Ongoing Medicaid Enrollment Has a Positive Impact on Patients
For ongoing Medicaid enrollment, very positive impact about the patient’s life. For example, when COVID-19 hit the country, it played a key role in stabilizing insurance coverage, making it impossible for millions of beneficiaries to endure the pandemic without health insurance. Nevertheless, the policy ended on March 31st of this year.according to Fagel JacobsAccording to Geiger Gibson Program Professor and Director of the GW Milken Institute of Public Health, the withdrawal of Medicaid means that CHC is at significant risk of not being able to provide patients with the health support they need.
with his team Leighton KooDespite the efforts of a professor of health policy and management at GW University to implement unwinding strategies aimed at lowering the risk of unfair dismissal, CHC is seeking stronger measures to offset these losses. He determined that he would need subsidy funds, noting that 40% of CHC’s annual income is earned. From Medicaid. Ku also points out that the long-term stabilization of the Community Health Center Fund will greatly benefit his CHC, as the Community Health Center Fund provides core operating subsidies. Grants like this help his CHC fund millions of patients in underserved communities who would lose their medical options if they lost Medicaid. can do. For these patients, losing Medicaid means increased health risks and can lead to further poverty.
Ku urges people to realize that discontinuing Medicaid will have serious consequences for both patients and CHC. As this starts to erode CHC’s revenues, it will find it increasingly difficult for CHC to provide critical health care to local residents.
