Munson to give $300K to clinic

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Ed Ness

July 19, 2012

Munson to give $300K to clinic

Contribution will help clinic ease into changes in funding

By Bill O'Brien bobrien@record-eagle.com The Record Eagle Thu Jul 19, 2012, 07:14 AM EDT

TRAVERSE CITY — Munson Healthcare will contribute $300,000 to Traverse Health Clinic to help the facility that treats uninsured patients ease its way into changes in state and federal health care funding.

The clinic sustained nearly $500,000 in state funding cuts over the last year, and faces potential losses of up to $1 million in federal money for indigent care. Munson's donation will keep the clinic open while it transitions to new public payment systems.

The clinic's annual operating budget is about $3.4 million annually.

"In the short term, their current model is unsustainable," said Ed Ness, president and CEO of Munson Healthcare and Munson Medical Center. "We want to make sure they are sustainable while we work through these new models."

Traverse Health Clinic provides a variety of medical services to uninsured patients, including primary and specialty care, vision, dental and mental health services, as well as outpatient services at participating hospitals.

Ness said the clinic often helps patients manage chronic conditions, efforts that frequently keep them out of the hospital.

Without the clinic, many more area residents would be without medical care, and they'd often end up in hospital emergency rooms for treatment, Ness said.

"We think if the clinic wasn't viable these patients would need services that are provided in a much more expensive setting," Ness said. "It's not good for access or cost."

Clinic Executive Director Arlene Brennan said the clinic should be able to recoup some lost public dollars through a designation as a Federally Qualified Health Center. That allows for enhanced Medicaid reimbursement for many of the services the clinic provides.

But in the interim, the clinic will lose federal indigent care funds as the federal Affordable Care Act moves more people to insurance coverage, a step that for the clinic will create cash flow problems.

"It's just a big hit to our budget," Brennan said. "We're thinking we can make it, but it's going to be tight. It's not going to be simple."

Officials said Munson Healthcare donated more than $11 million to the clinic over the past seven years in the form of in-kind services, including staff support or free medical testing for clinic patients. Munson also provides the clinic with information systems support.

"That won't change," Ness said.

The clinic provided health services to almost 3,000 people last year, an estimated $7.4 million in free medical care. Clinic officials estimate that more than 18,000 uninsured people live in its Leelanau, Benzie and Grand Traverse County service area. The nonprofit operation is funded by private donations, grants, and state and federal funds directed toward indigent care. Its staff includes 35 employees and 500 volunteers.

Traverse Health Clinic and Munson also will form a joint planning group to develop a long-term strategic plan for clinic operations. Ness said the plan should take about six months to complete.