Frequently Asked Questions

A: No, you do not. SNAHC is open to the community, there are no tribal or ethnic requirements to receive care here.

A: SNAHC does not currently have grant funds that would allow us to cover medical, dental, or behavioral health appointments/services for our native patients without insurance. We do, however, have a native sliding scale based on income and family size with lower co-pays than our regular sliding scale.  When you enroll as a member of SNAHC, we can put you on the native sliding scale (when you have provided proof of eligibility per Indian Health Service regulations), and also provide you with information on possible medical benefits like Medi-Cal or other public insurance programs.

A: You can bring the following for proof of income: last year’s taxes (if filed), a benefits statement (if on unemployment, SSI, SSDI, SSA, SDI, GA, or Cal-Fresh), and FAFSA are ok if you are a student and applied for financial aid.  If you do not have any of the acceptable documents, please contact Member Services at 916-341-0575 to determine the best way to provide proof of income.

A: In addition to being a Patient-Centered Health Home, SNAHC is a Federally-Qualified Health Center (FQHC) and obtaining a patient’s social security number is one of the requirements for a complete Patient Record. If you cannot provide a social security number we cannot put you on the sliding scale, as this discount option is technically a federal benefit.

A: There are shelters available on a first come first serve basis in Sacramento County.  211 or www.211.org  has a complete listing along with a list of qualifications.

A: We currently do not have a funding source to purchase bus passes for our patients.

A: A list of SNAHC-sponsored events and activities may be found in advance on the Community Calendar. Events and activities may change throughout the year.

A: Please forward all event sponsorship or attendance requests to the Outreach and Engagement Coordinator. Requests must be at least 30 days prior to the event.

A: SNAHC’s parking lot is now in use Monday – Saturday, and is not available for outside groups. Community groups are welcome to use the SNAHC facility with prior authorization.  Please complete the Community Room Use Contract and send it to the Chief Operating Officer. All events must have a SNAHC sponsor who will be available during the duration of the event. Requests sent with less than 30 days’ notice are likely to be declined.

A: Documenting Ancestry is our handy guide to discovering your Native heritage. Please also see this page of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

A: A land acknowledgement is a formal statement, a public recognition, of the Indigenous Peoples who have been dispossessed and displaced from their ancestral homelands and territories due to a variety of colonial and historical reasons. This statement acknowledges that an organization, a city, a park, or any other structure was built, and operates, on Indigenous Peoples’ ancestral homelands.

Sacramento Land Acknowledgement

A: There are several Native serving organizations in our area. To learn more and find contact information, please review our Native Navigator.

A: Being seen in our clinic and choosing SNAHC as your health home is not a guarantee of receiving prescriptions; we are not a pain management clinic.  Specifically, you should know that we do not prescribe controlled substances during the first visit. If your medication expectations fall outside our strict limits, you can be empanelled to SNAHC and could be referred out to a chronic pain specialist.  Your insurance will determine what specialists are available to see you; those specialty clinics will have their own requirements that need to be met.

There are many ways to treat chronic pain that do not involve controlled substances.  Your provider will work with you to explore those options during your visit.

A: The availability of free flu immunizations varies according to season and your insurance benefits. Please ask your provider during your next visit.

We accept the following plans: Medicare, Medi-Cal, Anthem Blue Cross River City Medi-Cal, Molina Medi-Cal, Health Net River City Medi-Cal, and most private insurance plans. Please note, we only bill private insurance for our Native patients; these are typically considered out of network provider visits as we do not contract with private insurance companies. We are also a Family PACT and Every Woman Counts provider.

A: Are you assigned to a medical facility yet?  If you have selected or been assigned to SNAHC, yes, you can receive dental care here. If you are not assigned to SNAHC, you would only be able to come here for dental services if you change your services—medical, dental, and behavioral health to our facility. If you are assigned to a medical facility and don’t want to change every service to SNAHC, you can call your insurance carrier to find out which dental offices you can go to.  If the medical facility you are assigned to offers dental services, you have to use those; if not, they should be able to provide you with a list of authorized dental offices.

A: SNAHC is unable to offer payment plans at this time; however payment plans may be an option in the future. SNAHC’s dental prices are lower than most private dental offices; depending on income and family size, you could qualify for our sliding scale and receive a considerable discount off of dental procedure prices.

A: The Medi-Cal Dental Program covers a variety of services such as:

• Diagnostic and preventive dental hygiene (e.g. examinations, x-rays, and teeth cleanings)
• Emergency services for pain control
• Tooth extractions
• Root canal treatments
• Prosthetic appliances
• Orthodontics for children who qualify

Your dentist can advise you on your best course of treatment, and under the specific conditions for which some of these services are covered. During your first appointment, please present your Beneficiary Identification Card to your dentist to determine eligibility.

A: SNAHC accepts Medi-Cal, Medi-Cal with Health Net Dental, Access Dental, Liberty Dental, Delta Dental of California, Assurant Dental, and United Concordia Dental.

A: Dental implants are designed to blend in with your other teeth. They are a popular and effective way to replace missing teeth and can be an excellent long-term option for restoring your smile. The use of implants is one of the biggest advances in the past 40 years of dentistry. Dental implants are made up of titanium and other materials that are selected for compatibility with the human body. Implants are posts that are surgically placed in the upper or lower jaw, where they function as a sturdy anchor for replacement teeth.

A: The dental implant is placed surgically into the jawbone. During healing, the post will integrate with your natural jawbone, creating a strong foundation for the new tooth. Once the bond is complete, an abutment (small connector piece) is added to the implant to join the replacement tooth or teeth. A tooth, an implant-supported bridge, or dentures are then attached to the abutment.

A: If you are interested in dental implants, it’s a good idea to discuss it with your dentist first. If you are in good general health this treatment may be an option for you. In fact, your health is more of a factor than your age. You may be medically evaluated by a physician before any implant surgery is scheduled. Chronic illnesses, such as diabetes or leukemia, may interfere with healing after surgery. Patients with these issues may not be good candidates for implants. Using tobacco can adversely affect the healing process of implants.

A: Please visit the Covered California website to locate a Certified Enrollment Counselor.

A: We will be accepting GMC’s with Anthem Blue Cross, Health Net (if part of River City Medical Group) and/or Molina at SNAHC. You can call a Health Care Options (HCO) Representative, toll free, at 1-800-430-4263, between 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday-Friday to get more information.

A: Your insurance records indicate that you have or have had private insurance—you need to contact your former carrier or current social worker to try and remove it if it is not active.