With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, Clinica Family Health Services has experienced tremendous change in recent years. “The ACA is truly a godsend in getting people insured who were previously uninsured. In the first year, 5,000 more people in our community qualified for Medicaid – that was huge, the biggest of movement of patients we’ve seen,” says Susan Wortman, Development Director.
“Additionally, about 2,500 of our patients qualified for health insurance through the marketplace. By the end of Year 2, 8,300 of our patients had some kind of insurance.”
Wortman recalls some new Medicaid patients moved to tears by the opportunity to receive care and services they previously couldn’t afford. “I saw women crying in gratitude – some had never had a mammogram, a well-woman exam, a blood pressure check or a diabetes check. It’s incredibly powerful to see so many patients coming out of the woodwork, seeking care.”
Additionally, Wortman says the ACA’s dental benefits have made a significant impact. “We have adults who hadn’t been to a dentist in years, if ever. They’ve put off their health care because they couldn’t afford it.”
The good news for Clinica is that, instead of offering patients a sliding fee, services are now reimbursed at the Medicaid rate, which is significantly higher. “It’s a lot easier to keep the balance, now, but we still have work to do to stay financially solvent so we can continue to provide care to those who remain uninsured,” says Wortman. “And because we have so many new patients, there’s a tremendous stress on the system – in Colorado, we don’t have enough access or providers across the spectrum of care.
“We’re hemorrhaging staff at every level – from billing to doctors – who are enticed to work elsewhere for higher salaries. So in some ways, we’re in a worse place than where we started. We have a lot more patients and we have to pay our providers more.”
Wortman worried that donors would go away, thinking the ACA had sufficiently “fixed the system.”
“Thankfully, we haven’t seen a substantial dropoff in donations,” she says. “There’s been enough media coverage that people know there are still holes in the system. There are still lots of people who can’t afford the care they need, and the people who fall through the safety-net tend to have complex needs.”
That’s why, particularly in advance of Colorado Gives Day, Clinica Family Health Services maintains a robust Facebook page that includes patient stories.
“This is the first year that we’re coordinating our holiday card with Colorado Gives Day, too,” Wortman says. “It provides another opportunity to remind people that there’s an easy way to donate. Every year, I’m astounded by the generosity of people in our state. They seem to understand how lucky many of us are, and that there are some people among us – our neighbors and friends – who need extra help.”
“Providing people basic health care is the right thing to do, ethically,” concludes Wortman. “People shouldn’t have to suffer or be in pain, and they should have access to affordable care instead of needing to go to the ER. That’s why it makes sense to support community health centers like Clinica – it’s financially beneficial for all of us, and keeps our communities healthier.”
