Reclaim the heart and soul of our clinics
Too many clinic executives have strayed from the righteous fight of expanding access to healthcare—choosing to mimic for-profit corporations and putting irresponsible expansion, self-serving executive pay and bottom lines over patients.
Who We Are
California’s Federally Qualified Health Centers and Look Alikes, also known as community clinics, provide care and support for 1 in 6 residents. But a closer look at many of these clinics finds a troubling trail of excessive executive compensation and allegations of illegal behavior.
As a coalition of community clinic workers, patient advocates and community leaders, we’re committed to fixing this crisis and putting patient care first.
The Crises at Community Clinics
Workers Allege Retaliation and Firing for Advocating for Better Working Conditions
- Over 83% of community clinics’ revenue comes from public funds, but, according to allegations in unfair labor practice charges, that hasn’t stopped non-profit clinics from using the same anti-worker dirty tricks as giant, for-profit corporations.
- According to those charges, community clinic executives are waging a relentless campaign to stop clinic workers’ right to join together in a union.
- Bay Area Community Health agreed to pay more than $55,000 to settle an unfair labor practice charge alleging it unlawfully terminated a nurse practitioner in retaliation for speaking out to improve working conditions.
- Clinica Sierra Vista, Innercare, APLA and Bay Area Community Health face unfair labor practice charges alleging they fired workers who spoke in favor of forming their union.
Wage Theft and Other Allegations
- Bay Area Community Health agreed to pay at least $4.85 million to settle a class action lawsuit representing 1,872 workers who alleged violations like unpaid minimum wage, unpaid overtime, unpaid meal and rest premiums and failure to pay timely wages.
- El Proyecto Del Barrio settled a lawsuit for $2,150,000 in 2022 over allegations of wage and hour violations.
- Innercare paid $1.78 million in October 2023 to settle allegations including failure to pay all overtime and minimum wages, failure to provide meal and rest periods, failure to provide timely wages, and failing to reimburse business expenses.
Medi-Cal Fraud Investigations
Far too many clinics have paid millions of dollars to resolve claims of trying to defraud the state and federal governments.
- Clinic Sierra Vista, based in the Central Valley, agreed to pay nearly $26 million for defrauding the state and federal governments.
- Borrego Health, which is now part of DAP Health, faced a criminal investigation for potential fraud and paid $20 million to state regulators. It filed for bankruptcy in 2022.
- In 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice and California Attorney General’s office announced a $3.5 million settlement to resolve allegations of Medi-Cal fraud against Community Health Centers of Central Coast.
- Clinicas del Camino Real agreed to pay $12.5 million to the federal government and California to resolve allegations of submitting false claims.
- Lawsuits accused Inland Behavioral and Health Services Inc of falsifying patient data, over prescribing painkillers and terminating whistleblowers.
- Santa Maria’s Children and Family Center former CEO Vincenzo Rubino was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $3.8 million in restitution and $2.3 in penalties for healthcare fraud and identity theft.