Half Moon Bay, CA, clinic abruptly shuts its doors

Coastside Family Medical Center, a medical clinic in Half Moon Bay, CA, closed recently with no notice. Open for nearly 25 years, it served 8,000 people. Because Coastside cared for the insured and uninsured, it did not qualify for a federal program that offers significant reimbursements to clinics serving the poor. Of Coastside's 8,000 patients, 6,000 had private insurance, with the remainder uninsured or receiving Medicare or Medi-Cal. Rising costs of healthcare, coupled with a drop in donations and grants, finally did the center in.