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Medicaid Day of Action: Congressman Neguse and Governor Polis Visit Clinica

On Tuesday, March 18 - as part of the National Medicaid Day of Action – Colorado Governor Jared Polis and Congressman Joe Neguse (U.S. Representative for Colorado's 2nd Congressional District) visited our Lafayette (Public Rd) Clinic to speak with Clinica Family Health & Wellness staff and leaders about the importance of the Medicaid program and the foundational role that community health – physical, oral, mental health – plays in our healthcare system.

At a time when cuts to Medicaid and community health centers (CHCs) are poised to hurt the health, well-being, and lives of people who depend on this care, we were grateful for this opportunity to discuss some of the critical challenges health centers across the state face and how funding cuts would impact the people we serve.

As an American citizen, I am angry that Medicaid is under threat,” said Simon Smith, President & CEO of Clinica. “The Medicaid program is a lifeline to millions across our country; it is a solution to healthcare access for those who need it most, but today it faces persecution.”

Dr. An Nguyen (right), Chief Dental Officer at Clinica Family Health & Wellness, speaks with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (second from right) and Congressman Joe Neguse (second from left) during a tour of our Lafayette (Public Rd) Clinic. Simon Smith (left), President & CEO of Clinica, listens in on the conversation.

Challenges facing community health

This is a uniquely challenging time for Clinica Family Health & Wellness and CHCs across the state for several reasons.

1. Unprecedented Medicaid disenrollment

Colorado’s Medicaid program has significantly shrunk in recent years. The “unwind” following the Covid-19 pandemic and public health emergency impacted hundreds of thousands of Coloradans, and Medicaid disenrollment was on a scale much larger than projected or anticipated. From 2023 to 2024, an estimated 575,605 Coloradans lost their Medicaid coverage. Colorado had the largest net Medicaid enrollment decline in the country.

Medicaid disenrollment directly impacts CHCs like us because our mission is to serve low-income Coloradans, so a large portion of the patients and clients we see are enrolled in Medicaid or eligible for Medicaid, Medicare, Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+), and other public insurance programs. For example, in 2024, we provided medical, dental, and mental health care to 30,895 patients and clients who were covered by Medicaid or Medicare. This group represented roughly 45% of our medical and dental patients and 62% of our mental health clients for that year.

As individuals and families throughout our state are losing health insurance coverage due to disenrollment from these critical programs, safety net providers are losing reimbursement.

Simon spoke about some of these challenges in October 2024 during a press conference organized by the Boulder County Family Resource Network (FRN):

I have led Clinica as CEO for the past 11 years, and in all my years of work, I have never experienced a period as challenging as the one we now face. The health care safety net is facing a particularly complex storm of challenges.” - Simon Simon, President & CEO

2. Increase in uncompensated care

What's more, the Medicaid “unwind” left many individuals and families without health insurance, which means hospitals and community health centers like us are seeing steady and significant increases in patients and clients who are uninsured. Here at Clinica, this has already had a profound effect on our organization and the people we serve.

Over 40% of the 60,000 medical patients we care for are now uninsured, and we have seen an 8% drop in Medicaid and a 6% rise in the uninsured from where these levels were pre-Pandemic, and even higher drops in the past year and a half. In 2024 alone, we served 21,620 uninsured individuals.

The last time we saw this amount of uninsured patients was over a decade ago, in the years before ObamaCare.” - Simon Smith, President & CEO

Simon Smith (left), President & CEO of Clinica Family Health & Wellness, voices his support of the federal Medicaid program during the National Medicaid Day of Action on March 18. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (center) and Congressman Joe Neguse (right) visited the Clinica to lend their support to Medicaid.

3. Rising healthcare costs

On top of Medicaid disenrollment and more uninsured individuals, each year the rising cost of healthcare makes it harder for nonprofits like us to operate. The cost to provide quality healthcare has steadily risen for decades – driven by many factors, including:

An aging population
Higher prescription drug costs
More innovative (and expensive) medical technology
Insurance and regulatory administrative burden
Inflation
Retention and recruiting of healthcare workers
A fragmented health system

Medicaid reimbursement often fails to keep pace with rising healthcare costs, and the increase in uninsured individuals adds further strain to an already burdened system. This, in turn, could force health centers to reduce access to care for communities across Colorado in an effort to remain financially viable.

As Governor Polis said:

These proposed cuts would devastate our hospitals, urban and suburban safety net hospitals. And that also would increase costs to all Colorado.”

Gov. Jared Polis (podium) speaks to staff, community members, and leaders at Clinica Family Health & Wellness during National Medicaid Day of Action on March 18.

4. New proposed cuts to Medicaid

Lastly, U.S. Congress is considering a budget resolution directing legislators to cut $880 billion in federal funding over the next decade. While the specific programs to be affected by cuts have not yet been identified, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says Medicaid will likely be one of those places since it accounts for 93% of the funding under the committee's jurisdiction.

Further proposed cuts to Medicaid present a serious and severe crisis for CHCs and the people we serve. Without this critical insurance, our most vulnerable community members - including children and families - will not be able to afford basic health care. Reductions in Medicaid will force safety net health care providers across Colorado to seek cost savings by reducing programs and closing locations. All this will ultimately lead to more expensive care and worse health in our community.

According to Rep. Neguse:

Make no mistake, it would have a dramatic impact on the people of our state.”

Congressman Joe Neguse (left) emphasizes the importance of Medicaid to financially struggling Coloradans as Gov. Jared Polis (center) and President & CEO of Clinica Family Health & Wellness, Simon Smith (right) listen.

Together, all these factors create a “perfect storm” of challenges that threaten to undermine Colorado’s health care safety net. Simply put, we are at a critical crossroads for affordable, community-based health care for our most vulnerable populations.

We need your help!

In this time of uncertainty, we are asking you and everyone in our community to contact your elected officials and urge them to protect Medicaid and the people who depend upon it for care and health.

Visit our Advocacy in Action page for specific steps you can take to make your voice heard!

Clinica Family Health & Wellness staff gather for a photo after Congressman Joe Neguse (left) and Gov. Jared Polis (center, purple shirt) toured our Lafayette (Public Rd) Clinic to honor National Medicaid Day of Action on March 18.