Service Trends Point to Growing Community Needs Across PCC Programs
As PCC reviews service numbers from the close of FY26, a clear picture is emerging: community demand remains strong, needs are becoming more complex, and programs are continuing to adapt to meet residents where they are.
Across Montgomery Cares, Care for Kids, and related services, the data show both growth and important shifts in how residents are accessing care. While some programs saw increases in use, others reflected more nuanced patterns. Care for Kids experienced lower overall utilization even as specialty care needs remained high, while Montgomery Cares exceeded projected encounter levels. Telehealth use also increased, and behavioral health referrals to social supports rose sharply—patterns that may reflect broader pressures facing immigrant families, economically vulnerable residents, and others navigating uncertainty.
Key FY26 Service Patterns
Care for Kids served 7,984 children in FY26, compared with 10,062 in FY25. Enrollment and primary care visits declined, suggesting that uncertainty within the community may be discouraging some families from accessing available services.
Montgomery Cares exceeded its FY26 base budget assumption of 78,000 encounters. The network provided 82,638 encounters, surpassing budgeted volume by 4,638 encounters, or 5.9%.
Telehealth utilization was 11% higher in FY26 than in FY25. Although telehealth still represents a relatively small share of total visits, June FY26 recorded 592 telehealth encounters—the highest monthly total in two years and a 51% increase from the same time last year.
The Montgomery Cares Behavioral Health Program served 1,220 unduplicated patients in FY26, an increase of 5.7% over FY25. With consistent staffing for case management through a dedicated Community Resource Coordinator, the program facilitated 417 referrals to community resources—more than double the 185 referrals made in FY25.
Specialty care demand remained strong. By June FY26, cumulative appointments coordinated reached 3,356, compared with 2,963 during the same period in FY25—an increase of approximately 13% despite budget limitations and continued prioritization of urgent cases.
Maryland Cancer Fund appointments also increased. By June FY26, cumulative appointments reached 411, compared with 291 during the same period in FY25, reflecting a 41% increase and sustained demand for cancer care support among eligible patients.
MedBank served 6% more patients in FY26 than in FY25 and secured $9.5 million in prescription medications for patients, a 16% increase over the $8.2 million secured in FY25.
Budget pressure remains a major theme. Montgomery Cares exceeded both its base encounter assumptions and earlier projections, demonstrating demand beyond planned capacity.
Rising behavioral health referrals, increased telehealth use, and continued specialty care demand all point to the importance of flexible, coordinated systems that can respond quickly to changing community needs.
Strengthening Systems to Meet Demand
PCC is continuing to strengthen communication, tracking, and workflows so programs can respond effectively to demand while maximizing the value of public and private investments. Bonterra Apricot, a case management system that will be shared across PCC client-serving programs, is now live for Behavioral Health and is planned for Project Access in September. PCC is also exploring or implementing tools such as YakChat, which integrates text messaging into the Microsoft Teams platform PCC already uses, and the MDScripts dispensing platform. These operational improvements support PCC’s broader goal: building responsive, coordinated systems that meet the health needs of the community. As FY26 service patterns show, residents continue to rely on PCC programs not only for direct care, but also for navigation, specialty access, prescription support, and connections to essential community resources.