NCB Capital Impact and MetLife team up to get more capital for community health centers

In an effort to preempt a potential decline in health care services for California’s most vulnerable communities due to the state budget crisis, NCB Capital Impact and MetLife have teamed up to get more capital to community health centers (CHCs) that need it most. To kick off NCB Capital Impact’s $75 million, three-year “Healthier California” program, MetLife has provided a $5 million social investment loan with favorable terms and conditions to support the initiative.

“To date, NCB Capital Impact has loaned or invested $500 million for CHCs nationwide to help support an additional 750,000 patient visits ever year”

Funds will be used to finance community health facilities throughout California, and were made possible under a program sponsored by the California Department of Insurance — the California Organized Investment Network — which provides incentives to for investments in California Community Development Financial Institutions.

"As one of every 19 people living in the U.S. now relies on a federally-funded clinic for primary care, MetLife is dedicated to helping provide quality care for them when and where they need it," noted Dennis White, Director of MetLife Social Investments and President of MetLife Foundation. “We have a long track record of successful investments with NCB Capital Impact, and they have a proven history in community development finance, particularly with community health centers. We knew they were the right partner to maximize the impact of our funds in a safe and sound manner.”

Nationally, CHCs serve more than 17 million patients, about 40 percent of whom have no health insurance. In California, where one in five residents is uninsured, CHCs provide more than 11 million patient visits from over 800 sites around the state. More than two-thirds of California’s CHC patients have incomes below the federal poverty line. CHCs deliver preventive and primary care services to all patients regardless of their ability to pay. Charges for services are set according to income.

“To date, NCB Capital Impact has loaned or invested $500 million for CHCs nationwide to help support an additional 750,000 patient visits ever year,” said Terry Simonette, President and CEO of NCB Capital Impact. “Despite the economic downturn that forced the largest lending institutions in the country to reduce access to capital for those most in need, we are able to continue investing in traditionally underserved communities thanks to partnerships with companies like MetLife and other social investors, plus innovative financial instruments such as Program Related Investments (PRIs) and social investments.”

PRIs, together with mission related and social investments, are fast becoming a best practice in both sustainable giving and impact investing. These investments combine the resources of social investors with the impact investment funds from private investors so community development organizations can increase the flow of capital to low-income communities. At the end of the investment period, the social investor gets the capital back so it can be used for more communities in need.

Since 1997, NCB Capital Impact has received approximately $50 million in PRIs resulting in over $110 million of financing in low income communities nationwide to increase access and quality of health care, education and affordable housing.

Investment in CHCs is an investment in both health care access and economic stimulus. CHCs are a key source of local employment and economic growth in many underserved and low-income communities: CHCs support over 105,000 jobs, including physicians, nurses, dentists, and other health professionals, and leveraging over $9 billion in needed health services. According to a recent study by the Graham-Center, CHCs: injected $7.3 billion of operating expenditures directly into their local economies; produced additional indirect economic activity of $5.3 billion; and created an estimated additional 53,000 jobs for the community.