Frequently Asked Questions

Is Wake Health part of  Wake County or WakeMed?

Neither. Wake Health is a private nonprofit health system with 8 locations.  We are a full service medical and dental practice, not affiliated with any hospital or state or local agency.  Four of our sites are in Southeast Raleigh. One site is in Fuquay-Varina, and one is in Apex.  We expanded to Franklin County in 2008 and opened an outreach site in Interact’s Family Safety & Empowerment Center in April 2009.

What makes you different from other medical practices?

Our mission.   As a federally-funded Community Health Center since 1972,  we have a mission to bring primary and preventive care to underserved areas and reach out to meet specific community needs.  Our board consists of 51% consumers to help guide us toward those needs.  Secondly, we offer wraparound services such as dental health, case management, bilingual staff, mental health counseling, substance abuse counseling, diabetes education, outreach clinics, and assistance with free prescriptions. Finally, we have affordable payment options including discounts for the uninsured.  We accept most  insurances including Medicare and Medicaid.

How are you staffed?

We are a comprehensive primary care medical practice employing board-certified physicians 5 days a week, with no volunteer medical staff.  Among our 100-plus employees are approximately 30 medical and dental providers, with the highest level of professional certification.  Our staff also includes case managers, health educators, and bilingual staff.

What if someone is UNinsured and can’t afford to pay?

For people with no insurance, Wake Health Services offers discounted rates based on family size and income.  We also assist with the application process for Medicaid and state-sponsored insurance for children.

Don’t Medicare and Medicaid cover everybody who can’t afford insurance?

NO.  Medicare and Medicaid mainly cover children under 18, pregnant women, and adults age 65 and over.  This leaves a huge gap of  adults aged 18-64 who do not qualify for federal support, can’t afford private insurance, or are underinsured, meaning they have very high deductibles and/or catastrophic hospitalization coverage only. Additionally, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements are capped at levels far below what we actually spend on a given patient. 

What is the demand for services?

Estimates in 2009 topped 151,600 uninsured people in Wake County, and 11,000 uninsured in Franklin County. Unfortunately, those numbers have increased due to the economic downturn. 

Is this a cost-efficient operation?

Without insurance, people put off seeing a doctor until a preventable condition turns into an emergency.  An average visit at Wake Health costs $124. Compare that to as much as $1800 for a single ER visit!   In our discount program, visits can be as low as $25.  The White House Office of Management and Budget has ranked the Community Health Center model as one of the 10 most effective government programs—a designation earned by only 6% of all federal programs.

How is Wake Health funded?

As a nonprofit Community Health Center, approximately one-third of our budget depends on grants and donations. We receive federal grants that cover almost a quarter of our costs and regulate many aspects of our services.  Two-thirds of funding comes from patient revenue, which includes reimbursements from Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance, or payments made through our sliding scale discount fee program.  More than one-quarter of our patients are enrolled in our discount fee program.

• Federal grants = $3,196, 678
  Community Health Center & Homeless Healthcare 

•  State, County, City & Foundation Grants = $244,539

Whom do you serve?