Dec 12, 2017 4 min read

Community health center executives from around the state said Tuesday unless Congress reauthorizes federal health center funding by Jan. 1, they will be forced to implement plans for reducing or cutting services and staff used to care for some of Pennsylvania’s most underserved and low-income residents.

During a telephone conference call sponsored by Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers, executives said unless funding is restored the impact of a loss of program funding could include potential site closures, workforce reductions and elimination of vital services to patients.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services projected the national impact of the loss of funding would close 2,800 health center locations, eliminate more than 50,000 jobs and result in loss of access to care for more than 9 million patients.

PACHC President Cheri Rhinehart said federally qualified health care centers represent the largest primary care medical network in Pennsylvania and across the nation, acting as a safety net for those who are underserved or are low-income and pay for services on a sliding scale.

In Pennsylvania, Rhinehart said, about 400,000 residents “would have limited access to care” if funding isn’t restored. She said PACHC is asking Congress to refund the system “for a minimum two-year extension, but ideally for five years.”

The system, which was last refunded in 2015, saw the funding expire in September.

Drew Pierce, chief executive officer of Primary Health Network, which operates 46 sites in 16 counties in Northeastern Ohio and across Pennsylvania said his group serves about 30,000 patients. He said as much as $6.4 million could be removed from his operations, which focus on primary medical care.

What people don’t realize, Pierce said, “is that there are millions and millions of dollars” beyond the $6.4 million in negative economic impact when the related jobs for clinicians are taken into account, adding the federally funded centers “are an integral piece of primary health care across the country.”

“We try to address needs before people need to go to a hospital,” he said.

That relationship was underscored by Susan Kalson, chief executive officer of Squirrel Hill Health Center, who noted with health care centers facing cuts to essential services, the concept of integration of care for patients will break down.

Since the centers provide access to everything from primary to dental to behavioral health care, in essence acting as a one-stop shop for medical services, Rhinehart said the system saves an average of $1,263 per patient, or about $1 billion per year in total savings to Pennsylvania’s health care system alone.

But without adequate funding, “many patients will end up in a hospital emergency room,” added Donna Torrisi, executive director of Family Practice and Counseling Network, a 25-year-old Philadelphia-based center.

The mood at Centerville Clinics Inc., which treats about 40,000 patients annually in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties, was somewhat more upbeat.

Centerville Executive Director Barry Niccolai said he views the impasse as being related to the overall U.S. budget fight, with the clinic funding being held up as a result. He said Centerville has a line of credit that would help shore up expenses if funding doesn’t arrive in a timely fashion.

Niccolai noted federally funded community health centers have enjoyed bipartisan support over the past 50 or 60 years. He said Centerville Clinics is the fifth-largest of its type in Pennsylvania.

“We’re looking positively” at the funding issue, but asking people to contact their congressional representatives about their concerns, he said.

He agreed with other executives who spoke Tuesday about the vital role community health centers play in providing lower cost, high quality primary care in areas where access to medical services by lower-income residents is restricted.

“Fayette and Greene counties are two of the least healthy counties in the state,” he said, adding that without access to the clinics, many residents will use hospital emergency rooms as their primary care treatment centers.

Rich Rhinehart, CEO of Cornerstone Care, which operates nine locations in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties, was in meetings Tuesday and not available for comment.

Kalson summed up her frustration succinctly during the conference call.

“It’s really chaotic to deal with months of impasse in Washington,” she said.

In a related story, on Tuesday Gov. Tom Wolf joined governors from 12 other states urging Congress to address the reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program before nearly 9 million children and pregnant women across the country, including more than 180,000 in Pennsylvania, are left without health care.

In a letter to House and Senate leaders, the governors asked Congress to make CHIP a priority to avoid disruption to vital health care services for children and pregnant women.