Community Health Center Leaders Elevate Patient Voices and Our Nation’s Largest Primary Care System in San Francisco

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Contact: Michael King at

NACHC Programming Highlights Innovation, Health for All and Patient-Centered Care at J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference and Patient Townhall

SAN FRANCISCO-The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) brought patient voices to J.P. Morgan's 44th Annual Healthcare Conference in San Francisco on January 12-13, 2026, joining industry leaders and investors to shape the future of health care delivery and financing. For the first time, Community Health Center (CHC) patient stories were highlighted as part of the event, underscoring the significant health, economic and community impact of CHCs as the nation's largest primary care system.

CHCs serve 52 million people or 1 in 7 Americans (including 1 in 3 in rural America) with a workforce of at least 326,000 across 17,000 locations nationwide. They save the U.S. health system lives and money and cost a mere 1-2%-or an estimated $58 billion-of all U.S. health care spending, while delivering affordable, comprehensive, effective primary care to patients, families, and communities in rural, urban, suburban, mountain, frontier, and island communities across our country.

Over 60 years and through patient-governed boards, CHCs have grown to become the most innovative and best part of our health system. At a time where there is a trust, affordability, and accessibility crisis in U.S. health care, CHCs represent the best local and national partners of choice for all stakeholders across the U.S. health system.

The NACHC events kicked off with a Manatt and Ignite luncheon and interactive discussion aroundFueling What's Next: Transforming Healthcare Through Collaboration. The dialogue included innovators, investors, and health care leaders who explored how partnerships can drive meaningful change and collaboration across CHCs, startups, and the health system.

A two-panel event at North East Medical Services (NEMS), the largest CHC in San Francisco, focused on amplifying patient perspectives within the broader health care innovation, investment, and partnership dialogue. Panelists included Johanna Liu, President and CEO of the San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium (SFCCC), and longtime health center CEOs Jane Garcia of La Clinica De La Raza and Harold Wallace of Marin City Health and Wellness Center.

"Patient boards are an essential part of our mission," Jane Garcia told the audience. "For us, that's part of our mission. The federal requirement is a 51% patient majority, but we exceed that. It keeps us honest. Our board members are very good about calling us out on things that need to be improved and they ask tough questions."

"If it wasn't for CHCs, people would be left outside of the system. Without sliding scale fees making care affordable, those individuals would be at a hospital getting costlier care. We're making a difference. A sliding scale is another way of giving a discount for the comprehensive care services we offer under one roof," said Harold Wallce, from Marin City Health and Wellness Center.

The CEO panel was followed by a panel of CHC board members, who described how their patient experiences inspired a sense of mission to serve on the governing board. Some highlights include:

John Baretta, Patient and Board Member,Equity Health, SFCCC Consumer Advisory Panel. "One day I realized I couldn't afford my insurance. So, I looked up health clinics and found a Community Health Center. I found it had more to offer than a primary care doctor-it's a one stop shop for many reasons. There is a dental department, labs, it's a clean and modern clinic that I am proud to be a board member of. What I appreciate most is that it's become a second family to me."

Beth Rosales, Board Member, Asian Health Services. "I never imagined I'd need a CHC after my career as foundation executive, but nearly 20 years ago my primary care doctor referred me to one after I developed a lung disease. The quality of care-from my doctor who's also the Chief Medical Officer to services in 14 languages-rivals anything I experienced before. What impresses me most is how we address the whole person: mental health, food distribution for cultural staples the food banks don't carry, our own dental academy, and even tech support to keep our community connected."

Michael Chi, Board Member, NEMS, "I am a patient and very proud to serve on the board for 35 years. Our health center is patient first and works hard to meet their needs. We just opened Sunday hours for the patients and have a 24/7 call center to make appointments, so there's always a doctor available. That's helping the patients."

Another highlight of NACHC's activities was participation in the Future of Medicaid Innovation Forum 2026. The event-an exploration of Medicaid as a moonshot-brought together leaders across policy, community health, technology, and investment to explore how AI and partnership can expand access, lower costs, and improve outcomes for Medicaid, Medicare, and rural communities.

CHCs are a lifeline for the more than 10 million patients living in rural America who receive care at a local health center. Co-chair of the Rural Health Transformation Group, David Rhew, MD, Global Chief Medical Officer at Microsoft and NACHC Consultant Isaiah Nathaniel underscored how multi-sector alliances across health care organizations, technology innovators, retailers, and community parters are fundamentally reimagining how care is delivered in rural America. Sean Roddy, Chief Financial Officer at NACHC, and Taylor McPartland, CEO of ScaleHealth, went on to note how partnerships like ScaleHealth's accelerator program are driving solutions to improve access, affordability, and outcomes.

Panelist Johanna Liu said it best: "We're in the business of scaling trust."

About NACHC

NACHC's mission is to champion Community Health Centers delivering affordable, effective, comprehensive primary care that is community-driven and improves health for all. precisely the conditions treated by drugs included in the rebate pilot.