Three years ago, the MSU Care Clinic saw an average of 330 patients a month. Today, that number is closer to 85. Beginning Sept. 3, the clinic will make a change that will restore its ability to care for as many underserved patients as possible.
The steep drop in patients is the result of Missouri’s expansion of Medicaid.
“We saw that expansion happen during the pandemic, and it gave greater access to Medicaid to those who needed it most,” said Justin Gassel, MSU Care Clinic manager. “But it also meant our clinic suddenly couldn’t accept a large number of patients we were previously caring for.”
About the clinic
The MSU Care Clinic is a collaboration between Mercy Hospital Springfield and Missouri State University. It opened inside the O’Reilly Clinical Health Sciences Center on the MSU campus in 2015 to provide free health services and medication to underserved and uninsured patients.
“The MSU Care Clinic epitomizes the very essence of the university’s public affairs mission,” said Dr. Mark Smith, dean of the McQueary College of Health and Human Services at Missouri State.
“The clinic provides a valuable service to the community while simultaneously serving as an educational center for the upcoming health care workforce of the future. MSU faculty and staff are excited about the expansion of the clinic and, in collaboration with Mercy, are dedicated to serving and providing patients quality and affordable medical care.”
Committed to serving more patients
Historically, to qualify for care, patients must be between 18-64 years old, have no health insurance, be ineligible for Medicaid and have a household income equal to or less than 200% of the federal poverty line. Starting Sept. 3, the clinic will eliminate the Medicaid ineligibility requirement to expand access to care to more members of the community.
“We serve a very targeted patient population,” Gassel said. “The Medicaid expansion was immensely helpful to patients across the state, but it meant that most of the patients we had built relationships with and who trusted us with their care could no longer continue seeing us. This will restore our ability to care for some of our community’s most underserved patients for whom there are limited options for care.”
Gassel added one of the goals of the clinic is to provide a medical home for uninsured patients whose lack of access to primary care often results in emergency room visits.
“That is not the best place for patients who simply need help managing routine care like diabetes and blood pressure. That’s where we come in. Our team works to get them set up with a medical home here at the clinic.”
Primary care makes up the bulk of the focus at MSU Care Clinic, but other health care services are also available, including simple procedures, vaccines, pharmacy counseling, nutritional guidance, lab work, EKGs and more. The clinic expects an increase in patients now that it can accept Medicaid patients, those ineligible to enroll in Medicaid and anyone else who meets the clinic’s eligibility requirements.
“Our mission is to provide a medical home for some of the most vulnerable people in our community,” Gassel said. “This expansion allows us to do exactly that.”
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