A Pending Health Care Catastrophe: $32 Million Loss Projected for Virginia’s Community-Based Health Centers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) are issuing a warning today about an impending catastrophe for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) – the community-based health care providers that deliver comprehensive primary and preventative health services to low-income families and those who are underserved and uninsured.

“Between the changes being brought on by the Big, Ugly Bill and the looming expiration of health care tax credits for Americans, there is a terrifying storm brewing for health care in the Commonwealth,” said the senators. “This could be the start of a vicious cycle where tens of thousands of Virginians lose coverage, leaving community-based health care providers in dire financial straits and with no choice but to serve fewer people, eliminate important health services, or shut operations entirely. We can’t afford to turn our backs on the health centers that prevent folks from falling through the cracks, and we can’t afford the widespread consequences this will have on health care costs and our economy. Our Republican colleagues who supported tax cuts for billionaires should act to save the health care tax credits that make it possible for many Virginians to afford their health insurance.”

Thanks to the Big, Ugly Bill, 41,357 Virginians – 27 percent of the Commonwealth’s FQHC patients – are now at risk of losing their health care coverage. This shift is projected to cause an annual revenue loss of $21,381,559 for Virginia’s FQHCs. To make matters worse, if Republicans allow enhanced premium tax credits to expire, 25,533 Virginians – 23 percent of Virginia FQHC patients – will face a potential loss of coverage due to higher marketplace rates. This shift is projected to cause an additional annual revenue loss of $10,851,618 for FQHCs.

Altogether, Virginia’s health centers could face a combined projected annual loss of $32.2 million dollars – an unimaginable quantity for health providers that regularly operate on thin margins in order to care for Virginia’s most vulnerable populations.

Leaving FQHCs with a multi-million-dollar shortfall could force these providers to scale back the number of community members served or the kind of health services offered. Under either of these reductions, more Virginians could find themselves forgoing preventative care and eventually ending up in the emergency room – a phenomenon that will increase the rate of uncompensated care and eventually skyrocket costs even for people with health insurance.

Despite holding majorities in both chambers of Congress and the White House, Republicans failed to secure a funding deal to keep the government open ahead of the September 30 deadline. With the government now closed, Warner and Kaine continue to push to reopen the government and prevent the impending expiration of essential health care tax credits that many American families rely on. The effort to prevent health care premiums from skyrocketing comes just months after Donald Trump and congressional Republicans slashed Medicaid in order to offset the cost of billionaire tax cuts in the Republican budget law.

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