Colorado’s community health centers, which serve all patients regardless of their ability to pay, are already a month into their new fiscal year. But Congress has not yet approved that annual funding.
Stephanie Einfeld, CEO of Northwest Colorado Health, which serves local residents with locations in Craig and Steamboat Springs, said the health center provides high-quality medical, behavioral, dental and other care. said it was in danger. Federal funding is needed to avoid shortened hours and waiting lists for care.
“We need the support of the federal government to continue our work,” she stressed. “Our lawmakers need to hear that. And they need to prioritize continuing federal funding first and then increasing federal funding.”
Unlike most other businesses, which face rising labor and other costs, federally qualified health centers cannot pass those costs on to patients, she said. Health centers provide disproportionate services to Medicaid patients, and with the expected move to eliminate health insurance after continuing coverage ended earlier this year, they are particularly vulnerable to uncompensated medical costs. are becoming more vulnerable to increases. 325,000 Coloradans without insurance.
Health centers have multiple sources of income, including patient billing and grants.
Dr. Simon Hambidge, chief outpatient officer for the Denver Health Department, said federal funding is important and the health center has had strong bipartisan support for more than 60 years. Often the largest employers in the communities they serve, health centers directly employ more than 6,000 people and create a total of more than 11,000 indirect jobs in Colorado.
“total economic impact Health center operations in Colorado are estimated to cost more than $1.7 billion. And community health centers generate more than $1.2 billion in tax revenue,” Hambidge said.
Community health centers also do something that virtually every other aspect of the nation’s health care system cannot afford: they save taxpayers money. Last year, Colorado health centers are estimated to have saved the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services more than $15 million, serving about 14,000 patients.
“The return on investment from health centers is documented. Health centers save 24 percent of total Medicaid costs for every Medicaid patient they see,” Hambidge continued.
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