“We’re OK, we’re going to be here.”
That’s the message that Chuck Porth, CEO of the Uncompahgre Medical Center (UMC) and the center’s board of directors want to spread amid a flurry of news headlines about cuts in government funds affecting rural health clinics.
UMC, located in Norwood, is one of a handful of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) on Colorado’s Western Slope, serving primarily the sparsely-populated western parts of San Miguel and Montrose counties, as well as parts of Ouray County. UMC has been an FQHC since 1979 and has seen more than 8,000 patient visits.
Washington, D.C. funnels money into these clinics in two main ways, first through the Federal Community Health Center Fund, and second, reimbursements for patient care from programs like Medicaid. Both of these sources of funding have seen cutbacks recently at the federal level, and the Joint Budget Committee of the Colorado Legislature has proposed state cuts in Medicaid funding.
“Medicaid reimbursement is shrinking, and I'm not sure how strong it's going to be going forward into the future,” Porth said.
He said he is also concerned about patients insured under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) who may be seeing insurance premiums go up because of the end of tax credits.
“We are hearing reports that on the Western Slope, some insurance rates have gone up as much as 40 percent. That impacted us too,” Porth said.
But Porth maintains that UMC is able to absorb the blows.
“We do not anticipate any cutbacks in direct patient care,” he said, emphasizing that the medical center’s ability to care for clients regardless of their ability to pay has not changed.
“Our medical providers, we’re solid there,” he said, adding that the same is true for behavioral health, dental health and the UMC pharmacy, although he added there will be some changes in the way UMC pays for drugs. Previously, UMC got medicines on a discounted basis, and now the pharmacy will be paying retail prices for some of those and will be applying for rebates.
Even in these uncertain times, Porth said UMC is expanding, having recently hired a dentist, Dr. Anna Sirbu, as well as acquired a van for patient transportation and added an annex to the main clinic building.
“We're out of space, out of capacity inside of our primary building here. So we had to come up with an option to generate additional space,” Porth said.
He said the addition was paid for through a special grant, not taxpayer funds.
Porth and his staff get high marks from UMC Board President Emily Haight.
"The UMC Board of Directors is very grateful for Porth's outstanding leadership and fiscal management and the extraordinary dedication of the staff that have kept the clinic in the black, in spite of these revenue cutbacks," Haight said.
In the end, Porth said he remains “cautiously optimistic” about the clinic’s future as it seeks to carry out its mission in turbulent times.
“Some of the executive orders that are coming out are changing the way we do business,” he said, but “it isn’t anything we can’t handle.”
