Faced with a growing population of uninsured residents, Northern Virginia’s principal health care system and its largest local government are nearing their limits on three major programs that serve low-income, uninsured patients, according to a recent report.
The programs are part of Inova Health System and Fairfax County’s “health care safety net” that serves residents who are uninsured, under-insured, on Medicaid or otherwise vulnerable.
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The number of uninsured residents well below the poverty line in the county and adjacent small cities is now estimated at 40,000, according to a report this month from county staff. And the growth of that population is expected to match or exceed that of the general population.
The safety net system is “at or near capacity” in the county’s Community Health Care Network, as well as Inova Pediatrics and the joint county/Inova Maternity Service Program, the report said.
While Inova did not respond to an inquiry on the matter, Fairfax County supervisors involved in health care issues echoed the same concerns about the programs approaching their limits.
“The current system is effective, but there is a need to have greater capacity,” said Hunter Mill District Supervisor Cathy Hudgins.
“We know that the numbers of uninsured seem to be going up, and the usage of our emergency rooms is significant, because people don’t have primary care available to them,” said Mason District Supervisor Penelope Gross.
The trend has prompted an examination of how to maintain the programs’ level of service without amassing new backlogs of residents who need help. The Board of Supervisors voted Monday to establish the Safety Net Health Center Commission, which will examine how to leverage new state, federal and private sector funds. The system is now funded almost exclusively by Inova and the county, which contributed $9.6 million to it this year.
