Along with his legislative duties, local Assemblyman Cameron Smyth finds a way to help his constituents, including local nonprofit organizations like the Samuel Dixon Family Health Centers.

Smyth and his staff were able to help the health care providers recoup more than $100,000 from the state’s Medi-Cal program that had been owed to the organization but was previously held up in red tape. The reimbursement is for patients seen at the SDFHC Val Verde facility from April 2010 to the present.

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The SDFHC Val Verde Health Center was approved as a rural health center in April 2010, and all Medi-Cal managed care and regular Medi-Cal were to be paid at a negotiated rate based upon this status. Since April 2010, SDFHC did not receive any reimbursements from the Medi-Cal Office as agreed upon. Assemblyman Smyth’s office not only saw that SDFHC recouped the cost of services already provided, but has ensured that subsequent payments will be made in a timely fashion.

“We are always happy to help non-profits in the area that need some assistance with reaching the correct governmental agencies to help alleviate their situation, and this case was especially important to us because of SDFHC’s overall cause,” Smyth said. “Health care services are so vital to our community, and we are glad we could step in on behalf of the organization to help the greater health needs of the Santa Clarita Valley.”

SDFHC operates three health centers in the Santa Clarita Valley—Canyon Country Health Center, Val Verde Health Center and Newhall Health Center—as well as outreach sites at College of the Canyons and California Institute of the Arts. SDFHC offers a full range of health care services—physicals, immunizations and vaccines, screenings and diagnostic tests, well baby care, and family planning—to those who may not seek health care elsewhere. Patients pay based on their income. This past year, SDFHC provided service for 11,000 patient visits.