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Mountain Family Health outlines rising demand in Garfield County clinics amid Medicaid changes
Summary
Mountain Family Health Centers told the council it served thousands locally and is seeing pressure from a high uninsured rate and the state—s Medicaid "unwind," which the CEO said led to coverage losses for about 2,000 patients and a material revenue hit to the health center.
Dustin Moyer, CEO of Mountain Family Health Centers, briefed Glenwood Springs City Council on the nonprofit—s primary‑care network and financial pressures that affect local access to care.
Moyer described Mountain Family as a community health center operating eight clinic sites across Garfield, Pitkin and Eagle counties, including school‑based health centers and two clinic locations serving Glenwood Springs (one near Valley View Hospital and a school‑based clinic at Glenwood Springs High School). He said the system served about 16,500 patients in 2024 and counted roughly 20,000 unique patients over an 18‑month window. At the Glenwood Springs sites, Moyer said the clinics served more than 5,000 unique patients in the last 12 months, with about 17,500 total visits.
He stressed the center—s integrated model (medical, dental, behavioral health and wraparound social supports) and its role in lowering total cost of care for payers through coordinated services. Moyer said Mountain Family accepts all insurance types (commercial, Medicare and Medicaid) and uses a sliding‑fee scale for uninsured patients (staff said it extends to households up to 400% of the federal poverty level to reflect local cost‑of‑living dynamics).
Moyer described the operational strain from the 2023 Medicaid "unwind" and subsequent administrative challenges: he said about 2,000 Mountain Family patients lost Medicaid coverage during the state—s renewal process, which he said produced a significant revenue loss for the organization. He warned further federal policy changes could increase uninsured rolls and pressure community health centers.
Councilors asked how students access school‑based services (Moyer said students can drop in between classes or schedule through the center—s platform), about payer mix at the Glenwood clinic (he said roughly 9% of Glenwood patients are on Medicare and about 22% are on private insurance), and about sustainability of school‑based centers after recent closures in Basalt earlier in the year.
Moyer said Mountain Family relies on partnerships and local support; he offered to share a monthly dashboard and asked the city to continue outreach to boost insurance coverage and referrals. He also said the center continues to seek grants and local match funding to expand monitoring and recreation partnership initiatives in the region.
