Western NC Community Health Services Expands Access to Care

Western North Carolina Community Health Services is providing greater access to care to an additional 10,000 patients as it contracts with Buncombe County Health Center.

The county announced Nov. 17 that it had reached a formal agreement with Western North Carolina Community Health Services to provide basic access to health care for about 10,000 patients now served by the Buncombe County Health Center. Contracting with Community Health Services will give an additional 5,000 people access to the local health-care "safety net" for the same amount of the money the county's spending now, officials say.

That's because, as a federally qualified health clinic, the nonprofit gets significantly higher Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements than the county Health Department. In a March report to the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, Department of Social Services Director Mandy Stone said it would cost the county $6 million a year to serve its current patient load plus another 5,000 needy patients, whereas Community Health Services could do it for $3 million.