Friday, Jul 22 2011 3:20PM
The only health center in Idaho City, Idaho, is likely to close soon due to insufficient funding.
The sole medical clinic in Idaho City, Idaho, will likely close permanently in September, according to KTVB-TV.
Local residents told the news station once the Basin Community Health Center, which has been open for 15 years, is shut down, the next-closest clinic will be nearly an hour away.
Lynn Kuwahara, who opened the health clinic, told the station she is being forced to close the center because new regulations and cuts to Medicaid have affected the clinic financially.
"We cannot afford as a sole proprietorship to continue to go forward with all of the mandates that we have to do to continue to operate," Kuwahara told the news station.
Kuwahara added the center may be able to stay open if it is bought out by a healthcare provider or it becomes a nonprofit rural healthcare center, which would require funding from the community.
Resident Trudy Jackson told KTVB the center's closing would likely affect the quality of life for area residents significantly.
Medicaid cuts could also hurt Idaho's jobs market, according to a report from Families USA, which said a 5 percent Medicaid cut would cost the state nearly 900 jobs.