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Prince George's County budget cuts threaten federally qualified health centers, work group members say
Summary
Members of a Prince George's County work group said cuts to the county's program that reimburses clinics for uninsured residents would risk clinic closures, reduced services and higher strain on emergency care. The group discussed preserving short‑term funding while planning longer‑term, sustainable financing.
A Prince George's County work group on county health coverage warned that proposed budget reductions to the county's health reimbursement program would jeopardize the financial stability and operations of several federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) that serve uninsured and low‑income residents.
At a virtual meeting, Anya (work group staff presenter) summarized survey responses from FQHCs and said the "main interconnected impacts of reduced funding would be, financial sustainability challenges" and that some respondents had signaled "potential closures" of county sites. She said reduced funding also would drive staff cuts, higher caseloads, longer waits and reduced outreach.
Why it matters: FQHCs provide primary and preventive care to people who otherwise lack access. Members of the work group and health center representatives said losing or shrinking clinic capacity would push more uninsured patients to emergency departments and increase uncompensated care costs across the health system.
"Once a health center closes, they're not gonna reopen," Sharon Zalewski, executive director of the Regional Primary Care Coalition, said during the discussion, urging the group to prioritize maintaining current capacity.
The health department noted the program has operated with limited administrative staffing. Stephanie Sloly, who identified herself as calling from the health department, said the department had assigned one staff person part time and that "we would need at least 4 staff people if we were to run it in house," adding that oversight and monitoring require infrastructure and ongoing funding.
Work group members discussed both short‑term and long‑term responses. Several representatives urged restoring or increasing the county allocation for the coming fiscal year; the current budget allocation discussed at the meeting was $1,000,000, down from prior levels that members said had been $5,000,000. George Espobat, chief of services at Casa, encouraged the group to "think a little bit more beyond the short term" and to pursue demonstration projects and complementary state or philanthropic funding while pressing to increase near‑term county support.
Participants described differences among clinics that affect vulnerability to cuts. Anya said some centers report Medicaid as their largest payer mix, while others rely heavily on self‑pay patients under 200% of the federal poverty level; she cited one clinic, La Clinica, as having more than 60% of clients in that self‑pay category. Those patient mixes, she said, make the impact of reduced county reimbursement highly variable across sites.
The group discussed potential funding avenues, including restoring county general fund support, seeking state legislative or bond funding, creating a designated surcharge or fee, and targeting state pilot or demonstration grants. Members warned that certain pots of money, such as capital bond bills, carry legal restrictions and generally cannot substitute for operating dollars needed to run clinics.
No formal vote was taken at the meeting. Participants agreed on two near‑term directions: press the county executive and council during ongoing budget negotiations to increase the allocation above $1,000,000, and task the work group and health department staff with drafting recommendations for a sustainable program model (administration, oversight, staffing levels and evaluation metrics).
"We would be remiss if we don't think long term," Espobat said, urging simultaneous short‑term advocacy and planning for a durable financing structure. Several speakers emphasized that sustaining operating funds is necessary to realize recent capital investments in local health facilities.
The work group asked staff to follow up with the county Office of Management and Budget about whether a dedicated budget line or surcharge could be created and to provide the group with the calendar for public budget hearings so members and health center advocates can testify during negotiations.
The meeting closed with a request that members contact the county executive's office and state legislators to press for higher funding and for health department staff to return with concrete proposals on administration, metrics, and possible pilot funding sources.
