As Healthcare Costs Rise, Where Do Families Turn?

Jamie Ulmer
President & CEO, Healthcare Network

People don’t stop getting sick because healthcare becomes more expensive. But sometimes, they do stop going to the doctor.

When money is tight, it’s easy to convince yourself that a cough can wait another week, your back pain isn’t that bad, or you’ll schedule that annual physical next month. The problem is that “next month” has a way of becoming several months. By the time someone finally seeks care, a health concern that might have been addressed early can be much more serious.

We’re seeing more families face those difficult decisions here in Southwest Florida.

Rising insurance premiums, higher deductibles and the increasing cost of everyday necessities are stretching household budgets. Even people with health insurance can struggle with the cost of getting the care they need. No family should have to weigh groceries, rent or other necessities against a visit to the doctor, yet for some of our neighbors, those choices are very real.

That’s one reason community health centers play such an important role.

If you’re not familiar with community health centers, you’re not alone. One common misconception is that they are only for people without insurance or that they are free clinics. In reality, community health centers provide primary care, dental care, behavioral health and other services to people from all walks of life. Patients may have commercial insurance, Medicare, Medicaid or Affordable Care Act Marketplace coverage. For those who qualify, care is also available on a sliding fee discount scale based on household income.

Community health centers were created around a simple idea: where you live or what you earn shouldn’t determine whether you can get the healthcare you need. That mission feels especially important today, as families face increasing financial pressures and communities like ours continue to grow.

And affordability is only part of the equation.

And cost isn’t the only thing that can keep someone from getting care. Distance, transportation and convenience matter too. For a parent juggling work and school schedules, a senior who no longer drives or a family without reliable transportation, getting to an appointment can become one more reason to put off care.

Here in Collier County, we’ve seen what can happen when healthcare moves closer to the people who need it.

Earlier this year, Healthcare Network opened the Van Domelen Community Health Center in Orangetree, an area where rapid population growth had left many families traveling significant distances for basic healthcare. Residents can now access primary care, dental care, behavioral health, pharmacy services and more closer to home.

That kind of access matters because healthcare works best when people can use it before they are sick enough to need an emergency room.

Last year, Healthcare Network cared for more than 55,000 patients, including nearly half of Collier County’s children, and provided more than $19 million in uncompensated care. Those are big numbers, but the people behind them are our neighbors: working parents trying to keep their families healthy, children who need regular checkups, seniors managing chronic conditions and people who simply need somewhere to turn when they are sick.

A healthy community depends on more than hospitals and emergency rooms. It depends on people being able to get routine, preventive and ongoing care when they need it.

Because when healthcare becomes too expensive, too far away or too difficult to navigate, people wait. And waiting often comes with a much higher cost, to families and to the community as a whole.

Jamie Ulmer President & CEO, Healthcare Network, a nonprofit healthcare organization that has served Collier County for nearly 50 years. He is passionate about improving access to care and strengthening community health, so all residents have the opportunity to live healthy, productive lives.