UnitedHealth Group Invests $2 Million in Valley Community Clinic to Enhance Health Care Access for Underserved and Underinsured Communities in San Fernando Valley

Valley Community Clinic, a community health center that provides health care services ranging from primary care to disease management, received $2 million in capital to help the nonprofit clinic deliver quality health care services to underserved and underinsured residents in the San Fernando Valley area.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) purchased Valley Community Clinic’s tax-exempt revenue bonds through the California Health Care Investment Program, which gives California health care entities access to capital at rates that are highly competitive with those of conventional financing. Additionally, given the dollar size of the bond issue, Valley Community Clinic also qualified for a cost of issuance subsidy of nearly $300,000, which covered nearly the entire amount of the organization’s bond issuance costs. The cost of issuance was subsidized by UnitedHealth Group’s Capital Access Small Issuance Program.

UnitedHealth Group’s California Health Care Investment Program is a 20-year, $200 million commitment to health care organizations that provide services to underserved, low-income and underinsured communities and populations throughout the Golden State.

Valley Community Clinic will use the proceeds from the bonds to refinance the clinic’s debt, allowing the center to save about $60,000 in its operating budget over the life of the loan. The organization, founded in 1970, operates a pair of clinics, the main site in North Hollywood and a second at Kennedy High School in Granada Hills. The nonprofit operates about 30 exam rooms and four dental chairs. The center’s mission is to provide quality health care to the medically underserved Latino community in the area, offering health care services both in English and Spanish. The staff includes 11 health care providers who are part of an overall staff of 165 workers. Valley Community Clinic serves more than 16,000 patients and receives about 65,000 patient visits each year.

"This investment results in a cost savings for the Valley Community Clinic that in turn will allow us to further expand our patient care,” said Paula Wilson, president and CEO of Valley Community Clinic. "Since the need for quality health care just continues to grow, we believe UnitedHealth Group’s investment will help ensure that we will have a lasting impact in the lives of people who need our services most, especially in this difficult economic environment.”

"UnitedHealth Group is committed to investing in California’s health care infrastructure to help ensure that all Californians have access to quality care,” said Steve Nelson, West Region CEO, UnitedHealthcare. "We are pleased to be able to help Valley Community Clinic meet its community’s health care needs, and we believe it is essential that medically underserved residents in the North Hollywood area continue to have this important health care resource in their community.”

UnitedHealth Group’s UnitedHealthcare business offers health benefits, including commercial and Medicare health plans, to more than 2.8 million Californians, and partners with about 50,000 physicians across the state.

About UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group is a diversified health and well-being company dedicated to making health care work better. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., UnitedHealth Group offers a broad spectrum of products and services through six operating businesses: UnitedHealthcare, Ovations, AmeriChoice, OptumHealth, Ingenix, and Prescription Solutions. Through its family of businesses, UnitedHealth Group serves more than 70 million individuals nationwide.