Lane County health centers warn of large shortfall amid state and federal funding uncertainty

Lane County’s Health and Human Services director and the Community Health Centers of Lane County (CHC) told the Board of County Commissioners on Sept. 23 that the CHC faces a material operating shortfall and is pursuing a mixture of revenue actions and expenditure reductions to close the gap.

“ Our expenditures are growing faster than our revenues,” Health and Human Services Director Eve Gray said in the presentation describing the federally qualified health center’s funding model and recent financial performance.

Gray and Lisa Willis, CEO of the CHC, reviewed how CHC payment models work in Oregon: CHC revenue streams include per‑member per‑month capitation payments (a state capitation rate cited in the presentation was $50.46 per member per month), wrap prospective‑payment (PPS) adjustments for carved‑out services (the presentation showed a PPS wrap amount of $302.44 per eligible service), grant revenue, and fee‑for‑service billing. Willis explained capitation in plain terms: “capitation is a per member per month payment based on a population that is assigned to the health center.”

Financial picture and staff actions

CHC leaders said the…