Santa Barbara County Restores 15 Clinic Positions After the PPS Delay Delivers $6.6M — First County-Level Proof the Budget Reprieve Is Restoring Capacity

Santa Barbara County will restore 15 positions cut in its June-16 adopted budget — 7 staff nurses, 2 medical assistants, 2 administrative office professionals, 2 financial office professionals, 1 health education assistant, and 1 pharmacy technician, placed 'specifically in the clinics, in order to increase productivity' per Health Director Dr. Mouhanad Hammami — because the state's 12-month delay of the UIS-PPS rate change (SB 164) gives the county $6.6 million in unexpected revenue for the fiscal year that began July 1, 2026.

It is the first named-county dollar figure showing the June budget's PPS reprieve restoring safety-net capacity — the concrete counterpart to Santa Cruz Community Health's ~$2.3M/yr projected loss from the pre-delay era. The reversal is partial: in-house blood draws, some pharmacy services, and four specialties (nephrology, urology, neurology, gastroenterology) remain shifted to private providers and the CenCal Health network.

The Board of Supervisors receives a full state-budget impact report August 18, 2026. Central Coast FQHCs should note the county clinics are re-staffing nursing and MA capacity while phlebotomy and specialty referrals stay externalized.