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Regional dashboard covering 13 Federally Qualified Health Centers across 220 sites in the San Diego region.
This strategic report is analysis compiled from public sources (HRSA UDS, CMS, WARN Act filings, news coverage, public Glassdoor reviews). Claims about workforce stability, financial positioning, or operational resilience are informational only and may not reflect current operations. For authoritative information, contact the organization directly.
The most important things to know about San Diego right now. Tap a bullet to jump to the underlying section.
13
across 220 sites
7,897
avg 607 per FQHC
75
1 event tracked
3.2/5
11 of 13 rated
How this region compares against the statewide average across the metrics that matter most.
Resilience
70/100
Glassdoor
3.2/5
Open Jobs / FQHC
14
Coverage Vulnerability
35%
FQHCs grouped by exposure to layoffs, low resilience, and H.R. 1 funding impact. Combines resilience score, layoff history, coverage vulnerability, and funding-impact level.
San Diego · Grade D (49/100)
El Cajon · Grade B (65/100)
San Ysidro · Grade B (68/100)
San Diego · Grade B (74/100)
San Diego · Grade A (80/100)
San Diego · Grade C (56/100)
62% patients at coverage risk
National City · Grade C (57/100)
62% patients at coverage risk
San Marcos · Grade B (77/100)
Moderate exposure
Vista · Grade B (79/100)
Moderate exposure
Escondido · Grade A (81/100)
Moderate exposure
San Diego · Grade B (74/100)
Lake Cuyamaca · Grade B (73/100)
Imperial Beach · Grade B (72/100)
Average resilience score: 70/100. Distribution of grades across 13 FQHCs.
Search by name or city. Sort any column. Filter by resilience grade or H.R. 1 funding impact.
13 of 13 FQHCs
| Neighborhood Healthcare Escondido | Escondido | 480 | A | 3.7 | 4 |
| Family Health Centers of San DiegoH.R. 1 San Diego | San Diego | 1,200 | A | 4.3 | 5 |
| Vista Community Clinic Vista | Vista | 340 | B | 3.4 | 5 |
| TrueCare San Marcos | San Marcos | 956 | B | 3.1 | 14 |
| La Maestra Community Health CentersH.R. 1 San Diego | San Diego | 828 | B | 3.5 | 10 |
| Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest San Diego | San Diego | 150 | B | 3.6 | 8 |
| Mountain Health and Community Services Lake Cuyamaca | Lake Cuyamaca | 50 | B | — | 2 |
| Imperial Beach Health Center Imperial Beach | Imperial Beach | 65 | B | — | 8 |
| San Ysidro HealthH.R. 1 San Ysidro | San Ysidro | 3,300 | B | 3.6 | 12 |
| Borrego Health - San DiegoH.R. 1 El Cajon | El Cajon | 180 | B | 2.7 | 4 |
| Operation Samahan (OpSam Health) National City | National City | 68 | C | 1.9 | 6 |
| Imperial Beach Community Clinic San Diego | San Diego | 280 | C | 2 | 13 |
| St. Vincent de Paul VillageH.R. 1 San Diego | San Diego | — | D | 3.4 | 6 |
177 open jobs across 13 FQHCs. 75 workers affected by layoffs.
San Diego · Feb 1, 2026 · 3.4% of workforce
Federal community health center grant reductions and Medi-Cal managed care rate adjustments. San Ysidro Health is one of the largest FQHCs in the nation serving 107,000+ patients.
Union organizing, NLRB cases, contract negotiations, strikes, and ballot measures touching FQHCs in this region. Statewide CA cases included.
Companion measure to #25-0008 capping healthcare executive compensation at $450,000 with a 3.5% annual escalator. Submitted alongside the 90% spending mandate. Together, the two measures would fundamentally restructure how FQHCs allocate resources and compensate leadership.
Next: Jun 25 — County signature verification deadline — Secretary of State expected to announce qualification by early summer 2026
BallotpediaAB 1113 pursues the same 90% mission-spend ratio through the legislature rather than the ballot box. FQHCs must report total revenues by June 30, 2026, using IRS Form 990 Line 25 (Column B, Part IX) as the basis. DHCS must adopt implementation methodology by January 1, 2027. Includes annual registration fees to fund enforcement. This is a two-pronged SEIU-UHW strategy: AB 1113 through the legislature + the ballot measure as backup/pressure. Opposition campaign active at stopab1113.com.
Next: Jun 30 — FQHCs must report total revenues to department
CA LegislatureNLRB Case 21-CA-377502 is now confirmed as a Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD) physician organizing campaign against Family Health Centers of San Diego — NOT a support-staff dispute. UAPD escalated April 10 with a press release announcing the termination of Dr. Raquel Cornejo Pina while she was on protected medical leave, characterizing her as the 5th healthcare worker terminated in an alleged retaliation pattern. Dr. Devesh Vashishtha (terminated July 2025) has a separate ULP charge pending — his termination prompted the original NLRB filing. UAPD held an April 16 press conference at 251 Landis Ave, Chula Vista with previously employed providers, patients, San Diego City Councilmembers, and labor leaders speaking. ~1,000 patients at the Chula Vista Family Health Center are now without a primary care provider. UAPD partnered with the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council. This is a precedent-setting physician organizing campaign at California's 4th-largest FQHC (600+ providers, 400K+ patients).
Next: Jun 1 — NLRB Region 21 investigation outcome expected on Cornejo Pina charge
Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD)SEIU-UHW leads a ballot drive for a one-time 5% wealth tax on California's ~200 billionaires (~$2T combined wealth), projected to generate $100B over 5 years. 90% would fund healthcare programs. If passed, this could be the largest state-level healthcare funding mechanism in US history and would directly offset H.R. 1 Medicaid cuts. This is a rare case where SEIU and FQHCs have aligned interests — more healthcare funding benefits both workers and employers.
Next: Apr 30 — Signature collection deadline (Regan target)
SEIU-UHWPhysicians, therapists, and nurse practitioners voted to join NUHW in January 2026 — a rare provider-led organizing effort at an FQHC. Driven by 6 CEOs in 4 years, 28 layoffs in July 2025, and 18 provider departures in 2 years. Providers wrote a public op-ed citing burnout; management retaliation followed. This signals FQHC labor organizing is expanding beyond support staff to clinical providers.
Next: Jul 1 — First contract negotiations expected
NUHWSEIU-UHW submitted signatures April 3 for Initiative #25-0008 requiring FQHCs to spend 90% of revenue on 'mission-related expenses.' A Berkeley Research Group study commissioned by Protect Patients CA finds this would redirect $1.7B from community health centers and push two-thirds into operating deficits. The 90% threshold would exclude spending on nurse/physician managers, translation services, enrollment navigators, transportation, community outreach, and new clinic construction. CMA, CPCA, CCALAC, AltaMed, and FHCSD lead the opposition.
Next: Nov 3 — Election Day — measure on the Nov 3, 2026 statewide ballot (formal certification by June 25)
Ballotpedia+ 3 more cases tracked
Coalition actions, ballot initiatives, lawsuits, and legislation actively defending FQHC funding and patients in this region.
A four-bill California package designed to blunt H.R. 1's Medi-Cal damage advanced through Appropriations (May 14) and onto floor votes the week of May 22-26, co-sponsored by Western Center on Law & Poverty, Justice in Aging, the National Health Law Program, and Health Access California. AB 2208 (Stefani) — which caps H.R. 1-triggered Medi-Cal cost-sharing at 1 cent and restores the full 3-month retroactive coverage window — passed the Assembly 58-19 on May 26. AB 2201 (Boerner) automates renewal verification to cut redetermination churn; SB 1202 (Weber-Pierson) mandates a public DHCS dashboard tracking H.R. 1-attributable disenrollments; AB 2161 (Bonta) is the fourth bill. For FQHCs, AB 2208's retroactive-coverage restoration is the most balance-sheet-relevant — it preserves billing for care delivered before eligibility is finalized.
Follow-up: Jun 15, 2026
Health Access CaliforniaAB 403 (Asm. Liz Ortega, D-20) would require DHCS, beginning July 1, 2027, to publish an annual analysis of Community Health Worker / Promotora / Representative Medi-Cal benefit utilization, reimbursements, and CHW/beneficiary demographics. The bill responds to evidence the benefit is badly underused: fewer than 6,000 of ~15 million Medi-Cal beneficiaries have accessed CHW services and under $1 million has been reimbursed since launch. Co-sponsored by the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, Visión y Compromiso, and The Children's Partnership. For FQHCs — the primary CHW/ECM billing providers — mandated public reporting will surface site-level utilization and bolster the case to raise the CHW Medi-Cal rate.
Follow-up: May 29, 2026
California Legislature / Latino Coalition for a Healthy CaliforniaOn May 21, 2026, SEIU 1021 members from Alameda Health System and Alameda County joined community members across California for a coordinated 'Fight For Our Health' rally day, with the Sacramento contingent calling on the State Assembly to prioritize healthcare funding in the FY26-27 budget. AHS frontline worker Jodi Huang testified: 'There is no backup plan for our patients' — framing AHS management cuts (already tracked via the $91.7M working group deferral) as a safety-net continuity threat, not a single-employer labor dispute. Pairs with CSAC/CWDA $6.4B demand (May 14) and CalChamber's Affordable California Act countermove (May 6) as the third coalition pressure point landing in the same May Revise window. Notable as a public-facing complement to SEIU-UHW's ballot-initiative track — SEIU 1021 is bringing public-employee/safety-net hospital workers into the FQHC-adjacent funding fight even though SEIU 1021's bargaining unit is AHS county-hospital staff, not FQHC employees. Watch whether the two SEIU tracks converge or stay distinct through November.
Follow-up: Jun 15, 2026
SEIU 1021California Secretary of State Shirley Weber announced May 19, 2026 that SEIU-UHW's 'Clinic Funding Accountability and Transparency Act' (Initiative #25-0008) has officially qualified for the November 3, 2026 statewide ballot. Signature verification certified ahead of the projected June 25 deadline. The measure requires all CA nonprofit FQHCs and Look-Alikes to spend ≥90% of total revenue on direct patient care, clinical staff, and front-line services, with CDPH penalties equal to any shortfall. CPCA + Open Door federal preemption lawsuit (April 30) and CHA-led state lawsuit (May 4) did NOT prevent qualification — both lawsuits continue. Now the most consequential FQHC governance vote in California history is locked in for November.
Follow-up: Nov 3, 2026
Ballotpedia / CA Secretary of StateNACHC's National Fly-In Days are June 2-3, 2026 in Washington, DC — replacing the April 25 in-district window that already closed. CA FQHC delegation registration closes Friday May 22, 2026 (2 days from this update). The fly-in is framed around the December 30, 2026 dual cliff: Community Health Center Fund ($4.6B) expiration + CalAIM 1115 waiver renewal + PATH $1.85B sunset. Coordinated congressional office meetings push for CHC Fund reauthorization beyond December, NHSC/THCGME funding extensions, and 340B Protection. Free registration, no cost barrier for FQHC leaders who can travel.
Follow-up: May 22, 2026
NACHCFollowing the May 14 Governor May Revise, CSAC CEO Graham Knaus issued sharp public pushback: counties want $6.4B over two years ($1.9B FY26-27 + $4.5B FY27-28) to backfill Medi-Cal coverage losses, hospital support, and BH services. Knaus quote: 'the governor proposes to hide from state responsibility while demanding counties do the state's job for free.' Counties may litigate or block budget elements. Affects all 58 CA counties operating clinic systems — LA DHS, AHS, SF DPH, Sacramento DHS, San Diego HHSA, Riverside RUHS, Ventura County HCA, Monterey County Health, Santa Cruz HSA. Budget conference committee window through June 15.
Follow-up: Jun 15, 2026
CalMatters / CSACAI implementation news and case studies that mention this region or its FQHCs.
Imperial Beach Community Clinic, a California FQHC, selected eClinicalWorks AI-driven EHR, healow patient engagement solutions, and AI-powered medical scribe Sunoh.ai. This is notable as another California FQHC joining the NACHC-eClinicalWorks ecosystem, which offers bundled pricing through NACHC Select. The clinic joins Sun River Health (NY) and Suncoast CHC (FL) as FQHCs reporting productivity gains from the AI scribe platform.
eClinicalWorks · Feb 2026Neighborhood Healthcare, a California FQHC facilitating over 500,000 medical, dental, and behavioral health visits across 30 facilities, deployed Nabla's ambient AI scribe to reduce after-hours documentation burden. Staff embraced the tool, and patients were comfortable with the technology — only a handful expressed data privacy concerns. Clinicians address these by explaining that conversation data stays in the cloud briefly before being deleted. For an FQHC of this scale, the investment in ambient AI appears to deliver strong ROI in clinician satisfaction and retention.
TechTarget · Feb 2026Eyenuk's EyeArt received FDA 510(k) clearance in August 2020 — the second autonomous AI for diabetic retinopathy. First FDA-cleared system to detect BOTH more-than-mild DR (96% sens / 88% spec) AND vision-threatening DR (92% sens / 94% spec) in a single test. FDA-cleared with multiple cameras: Topcon NW400 (2023), Canon CR-2 AF, Canon CR-2 Plus AF. Most importantly for the CA FQHC sector: San Ysidro Health (San Diego) is currently running the DRES-POCAI RCT — 848 patients, EyeArt point-of-care AI integrated with EHR across 2 FQHC sites. Funded by Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation + Kaiser Permanente AIM-HI. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06721351. Trial protocol published in JAMA Network Open. This is the most rigorous CA FQHC AI vision trial currently underway. Outcomes will inform NACHC/AOA/CHCF policy on autonomous AI DR screening reimbursement and FQHC capital deployment priorities.
JAMA Network Open / Eyenuk · Jan 2026San Ysidro Health (San Diego) deployed AI-enabled diabetic retinopathy screening as of January 15, 2026 — confirmed via the Health AI Partnership (HAIP) 'AI in Action' practical applications brief. HAIP is the UCSF/Microsoft-led consortium focused on AI deployment in safety-net settings. San Ysidro's retinopathy AI screens high-risk diabetic patients without requiring a specialist visit, enabling earlier detection in an underserved border community where diabetes prevalence is high. San Ysidro serves 100,000+ patients across 36+ sites in San Diego's South Bay. This is the first confirmed HAIP-affiliated AI deployment at a California FQHC.
Health AI Partnership (HAIP) · Jan 202651 intelligence items relevant to this region.
FQHC Prospective Payment System rates — averaging $200-400/visit — will be replaced by lower Medi-Cal Fee Schedule rates for services to undocumented individuals. This represents a 50-70% per-encounter revenue cut for these patients. FQHCs with large undocumented populations face severe revenue shortfalls.
Dental benefits for undocumented Medi-Cal enrollees will be eliminated, saving $308M in 2026-27 and $336M annually thereafter. FQHCs with dental programs serving undocumented patients will lose dental encounter revenue for these patients entirely.
KVPR / Public Health Watch published the first sector-wide enrollment numbers since California's UIS (Undocumented Income-Sensitive) freeze took effect: 86,000+ immigrants without legal status either lost or were denied Medi-Cal in January-February 2026, exiting at 6x the rate of other enrollees. Modeling projects ~1.3M Californians will lose full-scope Medi-Cal coverage over the next 4 years if the freeze stays in place. This pairs with the Kheir Clinic patient-coverage story (60-100 enrollment-help requests per day) already tracked — Kheir was the single-clinic anecdote; this is the statewide denominator. Strategic implication: FQHCs are absorbing the coverage hit. Largest exposure: AltaMed, FHCSD, La Clinica de la Raza, Clinica Sierra Vista, United Health Centers, Family Healthcare Network, Clinicas del Camino Real. This is the data FQHC CFOs need for board presentations explaining 2026 sliding-fee-scale demand surges and self-pay collections decline.
American Community Media reported May 20, 2026 that Kheir Clinic in Koreatown is now assisting 60-100 people/day in person with Medi-Cal enrollment, eligibility loss appeals, and DPSS food assistance — a frontline measurement of the chilling effect from federal immigration enforcement + the UIS enrollment freeze. Kheir expanded its Patient Resources Department staffing 25-30% and extended hours including Saturdays. Concrete data points: (1) English-only renewal notices are blocking Korean/Spanish/Thai/Bengali-speaking patients; (2) language barrier compounds with anxiety about disclosing immigration status; (3) operational cost FQHCs are absorbing to navigate enrollment as the state retreats. This is the kind of patient-story documentation that boards and policy-makers need to see — concrete data, named clinic, measurable workload increase. Strategic implication for FQHC executives: (1) Track your own Patient Resources / eligibility navigation volume month-over-month — Kheir's 25-30% staff increase suggests this is sector-wide; (2) Bill what you can — Medi-Cal Application Assistance Program reimbursement is available for some enrollment work; (3) Use Kheir's documentation as a model for board reports and CHCF/CPCA testimony; (4) Coordinate Korean / Asian language clinic outreach with AAPCHO and partner FQHCs (Asian Health Services, Operation Samahan, KHEIR, APHCV, Buddhist Tzu Chi).
On May 18, 2026 San Diego County released its $9.1B FY2026-27 recommended budget (6% increase over 2025-26) with explicit language that it 'supports health and safety-net services impacted by federal policy changes of H.R. 1.' Key allocations: $3.5B for HHSA (largest spending area), $12.7M for a new Behavioral Health Wellness Campus paired with a $99.5M state grant award, and $9.6M for crisis residential treatment. Revised hearing dates: virtual community meeting May 27 (TODAY), in-person open house May 28, public budget hearing June 1, comments through June 11. Strategic implication for the seven SD County FQHCs: this is the largest county safety-net commitment in California paired with explicit H.R. 1 language. The June 1 public hearing is the highest-leverage advocacy window — FQHC CEOs should submit written comment or testimony, especially around the $12.7M BH Wellness Campus aligning with FQHC BH integration capacity.
San Diego County released a $9.1B recommended FY2026-27 budget on May 18 (a 6% increase) that explicitly 'supports health and safety-net services impacted by H.R. 1' and expands behavioral health capacity. The safety-net reforms ordered by the supervisors' March 4-1 overhaul vote are due back to the board within 60 days of budget adoption (budget hearing June 1; community meetings May 27-28). Strategic implication for San Diego FQHC executives (FHCSD, San Ysidro Health, Neighborhood Healthcare, Vista, TrueCare): (1) the 60-day window is the moment to shape county-FQHC contracting for the 2027 Medicaid changes — engage now; (2) behavioral-health expansion dollars create ECM/Community Supports partnership openings; (3) position FQHCs as the cost-effective bridge as 327K county Medi-Cal recipients face H.R. 1 exposure. This is a rare county budget leaning IN to the safety net rather than cutting it.
Governor Newsom's May 14 May Revise proposes transitioning approximately 2 million Medi-Cal members with Unsatisfactory Immigration Status (UIS) from managed care to fee-for-service effective January 1, 2027 — projected $583.8M GF 'savings' in 2026-27, $1.5B ongoing. This is a NEW line item not in prior tracking, distinct from the State-Only PPS elimination (July 1, 2026) already tracked. FFS transition fundamentally changes how FQHCs get paid for ~2M patients: disrupts managed care contracts, ECM/Community Supports flow, and care coordination revenue streams that are MCP-dependent. Heaviest exposure: AltaMed, FHCSD, La Clinica, Clinica Sierra Vista, United Health Centers, Family Healthcare Network. Pairs with the May Revise $68.3M ECM cut (separate item) as a compounding revenue + operational threat for FQHCs serving undocumented populations. Strategic implication for FQHC CFOs: (1) Model FY27 cash flow under FFS-for-UIS scenario — payment timing changes from monthly capitation to ~60-day FFS claim cycles; (2) Re-paper MCP contracts to exclude UIS member rosters; (3) Brief boards on operational complexity (UIS member roster identification, dual payment paths during transition); (4) Engage CPCA + Health4All coalition on June 15 conference committee push to block the FFS transition.
Following Governor Newsom's May 14 May Revise, California State Association of Counties CEO Graham Knaus issued sharp public pushback: counties want $6.4B over two years to backfill Medi-Cal coverage losses, hospital support, and BH services. Knaus' quote: 'The governor proposes to hide from state responsibility while demanding counties do the state's job for free.' County-by-county requests align with prior figures: Sacramento County (Lutz) wants $1.9B FY26-27 + $4.5B FY27-28; Fresno County is $241M indigent care exposed (already tracked); LA County preserves DPH via $63.2M new ongoing local funds plus reserve drawdowns. CSAC/CWDA may litigate or block budget elements. Affects ALL counties operating clinic systems: LA DHS, AHS (Alameda), SF DPH, Sacramento DHS, San Diego HHSA, Riverside RUHS, Ventura County HCA, Monterey County Health, Santa Cruz HSA, San Bernardino DBH. Strategic implication for FQHCs: (1) county Medi-Cal cost-shifts will likely translate to reductions in county-FQHC contracts (ECM, CalAIM Community Supports, BH crisis services); (2) FQHCs serving as residual safety-net for closed county clinics will absorb uninsured volume; (3) align CPCA/CCALAC advocacy with CSAC/CWDA testimony in June 15 budget conference committee window.