A Williamson County program that helps low-income patients pay for medical care could see some major cuts.

The Williamson County Commissioners Court voted Tuesday to scale back WilCo Care so that it still meets state guidelines, but doesn't have the county spending significantly more than the 8 percent of the property tax levy that normally funds it.

State law requires all counties to provide a program for patients whose incomes are no more than 21 percent of the poverty level and don't qualify for Medicaid. The program must allow patients to spend $30,000 a year on specified medical costs.

WilCo Care has provided services to people whose incomes are at 25 percent of the poverty level, and has allowed them to spend $35,000 a year. Effective immediately, those have been changed to match the state's requirements.

"We regret this, but these are two changes that we recommended knowing that the commissioners needed to make some changes," Bride Roberts, who runs the program at Williamson County and Cities Health District, said. "It may reduce the numbers eligible for our program by about 5 percent."

A 2006 report from the Task Force for Access to Health Care in Texas urged the state to expand access to indigent care by increasing the statewide poverty level from 21 percent to 100 percent of the federal poverty level. The federal poverty guideline is currently $22,050 for a family of four.

Earlier this year, the commission approved additional funding for the program, though not as much as requested.

The Lone Star Circle of Care clinics across Central Texas have also seen the increase in demand that caused the increase in spending for WilCo Care.

"We've seen more and more patients coming in who have no means to pay for health care, no access to pay for health care insurance," Dr. Scott Nicklebur said. "Even a nonprofit, like a community health center, is going to feel some financial effects of [the WilCo Care cuts], the exact results of which we're probably just going to have to wait and see."