Title
a. Receive a report on the financial position of the Health Department Clinic Services Bureau and the benefits of converting standalone clinics on the Natividad campus to intermittent clinics; and
b. Support the conversion of standalone clinics on the Natividad campus to intermittent clinics to improve financial stability of the Clinic Services Bureau effective May 3, 2025; and
c. Direct staff to provide future updates to the Board of Supervisors Budget Committee as appropriate.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Budget Committee:
a. Receive a report on the financial position of the Health Department Clinic Services Bureau and the benefits of converting standalone clinics on the Natividad campus to intermittent clinics; and
b. Support the conversion of standalone clinics on the Natividad campus to intermittent clinics to improve financial stability of the Clinic Services Bureau effective May 3, 2025; and
c. Direct staff to provide future updates to the Board of Supervisors Budget Committee as appropriate.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
The Health Department’s Clinic Services Bureau clinics are Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) that provide primary care, dental, chiropractic, and specialty care services to Monterey County residents. As an FQHC system, the Clinic Services Bureau is reimbursed under the Prospective Payment System (PPS), a state-administered model designed to cover the cost of providing care to Medi-Cal patients. These PPS rates, set by the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), have seen only minimal adjustments over the years and are now insufficient to cover the Clinic Services Bureau’s actual cost of providing care. As a result, the gap between the current PPS rate per visit and the actual cost per visit continues to widen, contributing to the projected financial shortfall in the current fiscal year and out years.
Recently, the Clinic Services Bureau received its final PPS rate for the NIDO (I...
Click here for full text