2007 Lane County Federal Priorities

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Fec~era~ Priorities 2007 Education ~ Pubic Heath clinic is projected to serve 8,402 patients and provide 23,525 encounters. With the continued \ uncertainty. in the Oregon Health Plan Medicaid program coverage and the stress on the. safety ' i net system, the clinic anticipates at least a 4 percent increase in users and encounters each of the next four years. That demand will far exceed the capacity of existing facilities. ,~ CHCLC has 32 full-time-equivalent permanent employees and 20 temporary employees ~j providing health care at eight sites. The staff includes primary and behavioral health providers i and other health professionals, health care education-and prevention staff, and support staff. Currently, staff provide medical, behavioral- health, dental, and. other social servicesto a diverse } group. of individuals, the majority of whom. are poor, underinsured, homeless, mentally ill, and ~ non-English speaking. Approximately, 25 percent of the CHCLC patient population .does not speak English as their first language.. _. The CHCLC business plan goal is to achieve a payer mix of 55-63 percent (including Medicaid) ' insured and 45-47 percent uninsured in order to ensure sustainability over the next few years. The objectives include the following: ~..~ • Increase number of OHP/CHIP clients from 28 percent to 38 percent J i Increase commercial/private insurance from 8 percent to 15 percent - • Increase Medicare from 3 percent to 8 percent - ~; `; CHCLC is maximizing and leveraging support from non-federal grant revenue. The non-federal grant revenue represents 80.2 percent of the total revenue, which we hope to increase to 82.7 percent over afive-year period. Patient revenues are maximized through efficient billing and collections and through assistance to obtain insurance coverage for patients. } Other important considerations and statistics include the following: • Projected income from clinic patients during .the next five years should average nearly 70.9 percent, compared to 57 percent nationally and 60 percent for Region X. (2004) ~ ~, _. • Average cost per user for 8,402 users in Year 1 over the whole program was $417.04. Thee 2004 average total cost per user nationally is $504; Region X was $670; Oregon_was $833. i • Annual income includes a strong mix of local and. state #unding as well as substantial in-kind ~, ` ,...support from local sources.. I t\ _ Summary , ~ The most cost-effective way to provide basic primary care to those who do not have, health insurance is through community health. centers. In Lane County, that means the Community ' Health Centers of Lane County. Without an .enhanced :Springfield facility, many patients-will not ~ >. ~ get regular health .care.. Without regular health care, patients are. sicker, more costly to treat, . . and the chance of negative outcomes is higher. Lack of regular health care creates a ~ community hazard as well. If a person has not seen a doctor in years, this co-worker, friend, or school-age. child may have contracted a communicable airborne disease or something more i serious. Community Health Centers of Lane County helps to-keep the community healthy and ~ safe. ., (, 22 __ _ _ _