The impact of federal stimulus funds on community health centers in California The impact of federal stimulus funds on community health centers in California

Collection: Health Policy and Services Research Series Title(s): Issue brief (California HealthCare Foundation) Contributor(s): California HealthCare Foundation. Publication: [Oakland, Calif.] : California HealthCare Foundation, [2009] Language(s): English Format: Text Subject(s): Community Health Centers -- economics Community Health Centers -- legislation & jurisprudence Community Networks -- economics Community Networks -- legislation & jurisprudence Financing, Government -- economics Financing, Government -- legislation & jurisprudence California United States Genre(s): Technical Report Abstract: California's community health centers are critical components of the health care safety net, providing local, comprehensive primary care services in medically underserved areas regardless of patients' ability to pay. Like many entities that focus on the underserved, the 600-plus federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), FQHC look-alikes, and nonprofit centers in the state can be particularly hard-hit during an economic downturn by a combination of less available funding and more people seeking services. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the recently enacted federal stimulus package, recognizes community health centers' crucial role. It allocates significant funds for all types of community health centers, including $2 billion specifically for FQHCs and community health center-controlled networks. This funding will help meet a variety of needs at community health centers--new sites and services, new and improved infrastructure, adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) and other health information technology, telehealth and broadband, training of primary care professionals, Medicaid coverage assistance, and more. Although some funding opportunities in ARRA have expired, others are forthcoming; the federal government has yet to announce funding amounts, eligibility, and project specifications. The time between the announcement of a program and awarding funds in often very short. Therefore, to meet application deadlines, community health centers should diligently monitor events at both the federal and state levels, and communicate frequently with California officials, as some of the funding will go directly to the state for disbursement. This issue brief summarizes the many funding opportunities in ARRA that could help bolster and improve California's community health centers during an especially onerous recession. Copyright: Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY license. (More information) Illustrations: Illustrations NLM Unique ID: 101518170 (See catalog record) Permanent Link: http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101518170