In Georgia, 13.9 percent of the population is without health insurance coverage, according to U.S. Census Bureau data for 2015. As federal and state leaders continue to discuss the U.S. healthcare crisis, communities across Georgia are relying on free and charitable health clinics to provide primary care for uninsured and underinsured patients.
According to the Georgia Charitable Care Network (GCCN), Georgia has 96 free and charitable clinics, with more in development. In addition to the free and charitable clinics, the state has hundreds of physicians, dentists, and other healthcare professionals that provide free and reduced-rate services.
Located in Lowndes County, the Partnership Health Center (PHC), a program of the South Georgia Partnership for Health (SGPH), is a free clinic that serves the primary medical needs of uninsured adults (18 to 64 years old) with incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level guidelines.
“When we first started in 1997, we focused on chronic disease prevention and overall wellness,” said SGPH Director John Sparks. “In 2007, we opened a small clinic that served the working uninsured who lived in Lowndes County.”
Earlier this year, with a grant from South Georgia Medical Center (SGMC), the clinic relocated to a larger facility, the Ralph Council Medical Building in Valdosta. The grant also provided the number of paid medical and support staff to increase. With these changes, the PHC now accepts uninsured patients regardless of employment status and where they live.
John Sparks
“We have expanded to 12 hours per day,” said Sparks, who started with SGPH in 1999. “The longer hours and the larger clinic provides us with an opportunity to see more patients.”
Sparks said with the new facility and personnel, PHC is transitioning from a free to a charitable clinic, which will have sliding scale payment and accept Medicaid and Medicare, as well as private insurance next year.
“Our purpose is to provide healthcare to those who don’t have access,” Sparks said. “We don’t want the payment to be a stumbling block. For those who can pay something, we will use a sliding scale based on income to determine the cost.”
With the acceptance of Medicaid and Medicare in early 2018, the age restrictions will be removed; however, the clinic will not provide pediatric services.
“Becoming a charitable clinic only means that we will move from being free to charging a fee,” Sparks said. “Each patient visit actually costs us about $56, and we feel that many of our patients can afford to share a little of the cost. The fees will be based on income, but no one will be turned away for failure to pay.”
As a charitable clinic, SGPH will also benefit people who have insurance but are unable to afford their deductibles.
“You might have insurance with a high deductible,” Sparks said. “Some deductibles are $3,000 to $4,000 and that prevents people from seeking primary care.”
Sparks said the SGPH is grateful for the generosity of the Hospital Authority of Valdosta and Lowndes County, Georgia (SGMC) for its continued financial support that helps expand healthcare access to more adults in South Georgia.
“SGMC has been a supporter of Partnership for Health since we started,” Sparks said. “We help keep people out of the emergency room and give them a place for follow-up care when they get out of the hospital.”
According to a 2015 study conducted by the Economic Evaluation Research Group at the University of Georgia College of Public Health, there is strong evidence that public and private financial support of free and charitable clinics provides a positive return on investment.
“SGMC values the Partnership Health Center because it provides high-quality primary care that individuals need to stay healthy or manage their medical conditions,” said Johnny Ball, SGMC assistant administrator for Communications and Public Affairs. “SGMC considers the resources it has invested with the partnership to be dollars well spent. Providing cost-effective, timely care is simply the right thing to do, It is part of SGMC’s mission to serve people and improve overall community health.”
Commissioned by the GCCN, the study found that for every 100 patients that visited a free or charitable clinic there was an annual savings of $50,000 in avoided visits to emergency rooms.
“The study supports that when hospitals invest in free or charitable clinics, there are savings on that investment,” Sparks said.
In addition to moving toward operating as a charitable clinic, PCH is working toward applying to become a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), which would provide federal dollars to assist the clinic in serving more patients.
“Becoming an FQHC will allow us to hire a full-time physician, expand our pharmacy, and add more dental services,” Sparks said. “FQHCs are in areas that are considered medically underserved. Even though Valdosta and Lowndes is an MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area), there are parts where we are medically underserved.”
In 2016, the SGPH provided $1.6 million in free medical care and is expected to provide more than 13,000 patient visits this year.
“If it weren’t for free and charitable clinics, like the Partnership Health Clinic, you would have close to half-a-million people in Georgia that would not have access to healthcare,” Sparks said. “Each clinic operates differently depending on who they serve, programs offered, and times they are open. The success is based on the community’s needs and who is investing in them. We are fortunate to have South Georgia Medical Center as a partner.”