A budget crisis: Looming cuts threaten care for the most vulnerable patients

At Clinica Family Health and Wellness, actions taken over the past year tell a devastating story – one that is unfolding across Colorado. Medicaid disenrollments have driven thousands of patients into the ranks of the uninsured, forcing deep cuts to essential services and threatening communities’ access to care. Clinics like Clinica, which has locations in Boulder, Denver, Lafayette, Thornton, Westminster, Nederland and Black Hawk, are lifelines for low-income and rural families and are now on the brink of closure.

“We are a canary in the coal mine, but not the only one,” says Simon Smith, CEO of Clinica Family Health and Wellness. “We are hollowing out primary care and prevention services that keep people healthy and save our system money. The safety net, like the health of the people we serve, is fragile. Insurance status may change, but the needs of the human being do not.”

Read more >>