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Dahl Memorial Clinic receives continuance grant notice; committee reviews dental billing spike and aged receivables
Summary
Executive Director Albert Wall told the finance committee the clinic received a continuance grant notice that preserves its FQHC status for three years; the committee also reviewed accounts receivable, a $40,000 dental billing spike, and concerns about payments lagging behind charges.
The Dahl Memorial Clinic Finance Committee heard a financial update on March 18, 2025 in which Executive Director Albert Wall reported the clinic received a notice of award: a continuance grant that allows the clinic to continue operating as a federally qualified health center (FQHC) while the federal continuing resolution was in effect.
"We got the notice of award that our grant has been awarded," Wall told the committee. He said the award was issued as a continuance grant during a government slowdown, described it as "half the dollar amount, but it's for the full year," and said parallel program statuses tied to the grant'including FTCA coverage and national health service corps deemed status'were also renewed. Wall added: "So, we should be good to go for another 3 years."
Wall cautioned that if federal executive-branch policy trends continue, future notices of award could include additional program restrictions; he referenced existing federal limits that apply to FQHCs, noting, "Right now, federally qualified health centers cannot prescribe medicinal marijuana. It is a federal mandate on FQHC level." He said the clinic's legislative-mandate policy records grant-related restrictions and that any new restrictions would be reflected in future award notices.
The committee also examined billing and revenue trends. Wall pointed to an aged accounts chart showing about $59,000 in receivables aged over 80 days, the majority labeled self-pay and many accounts sent to collections or placed on payment plans. He flagged a large jump in charges in early January driven by the new dental clinic: "$40,000 of that charge is represented, through the dental clinic, which we did not have at this time last year." He said January's $40,000 billing cycle reflected a week of high dental production after dental services moved fully onto the clinic's electronic health record.
Committee members noted payments were lagging behind charges into February. Wall said he expects March results will be most telling: "If our payments are down again in March, then there's a systemic issue. But we'll have to wait until the March to see that." He also described administrative reasons for some late claims, including paper charts for dental claims and delayed provider chart sign-off, which resulted in late filing for some UnitedHealthcare dental claims.
Collections work was described as performing within normal percentage expectations; Wall said the collection agency returns a typical percentage of presented debts. The committee discussed improving patient communication about automatic billing for cards on file after a member described an instance in which a card on file was charged unexpectedly.
There was no formal committee vote tied to the grant notice; committee members celebrated receipt of the award and discussed operational implications. The grant status and financial metrics will be reported to the full board and used to guide fiscal monitoring and policy decisions.
The committee adjourned at 6:55 p.m.
