Tensions are on the rise again at the largest network of community health-care clinics in D.C., with doctors and direct-care providers questioning the ability of Unity Health Care to continue its mission of treating the city’s most vulnerable residents.
The conditions prompted the union last month to authorize a strike, the final step before union members on the bargaining committee can call for a work stoppage, potentially interrupting care for the 1 in 8 D.C. residents who are Unity patients.
In a statement from a Unity Health Care spokeswoman, officials said they want to reach a collective bargaining agreement that benefits the clinic and its providers.
“While we are working to find common ground to address the issues that have been raised by the Union, Unity has made it clear to Union negotiators that we cannot jeopardize patient care. While we hope it doesn’t come to a strike, we are prepared should the situation arise, and we are focused on ensuring our patients have access to the care they need,” the statement says.
As a federally qualified health center, Unity provides primary care regardless of patients’ ability to pay and qualifies for reimbursement under Medicare and Medicaid. Unity providers treat D.C.’s most underserved residents, many of whom have complex medical conditions and poor health literacy on top of barriers to stable housing, food, transportation and child care.
But providers say packed schedules and losses of doctors and nurse practitioners make it difficult for them to see the same patients regularly, the bedrock of establishing trusted relationships and maintaining continuity of care. They are seeking more administrative time to catch up on work and the ability to see fewer patients for longer appointments, providers have said.
