Health centers providing care to underserved communities faced financial risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. The UW CHWS team identified 10 sources of federal funds distributed to 1,352 centers, ranging from $19 to $1.22 billion per center in a new Health Affairs study. Funding came sources such as the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) H8 grants, Provider Relief Fund and Paycheck Protection Program. Centers with the lowest level of funding were more likely rural, employed lower percentages of nurse practitioners, and had the highest percentages of Medicaid enrollees.
In further analysis published in the Journal of Ambulatory Care Management, there was a 6-fold difference in H8 funding – COVID-related funding targeted to health centers – distributed in 2020. Despite this difference, health centers’ outcomes improved similarly over time, with the lowest-funding health centers reporting the greatest staffing and service capacity challenges.
The findings from these studies suggest that federal funding to support health centers through the pandemic may have contributed to stabilization of health centers’ workforce and operations, though sustained investments may be needed to ensure ongoing delivery of critical services.
These studies were conducted in collaboration with faculty at Boston University and University of South Carolina and supported by HRSA funding through the UW CHWS Health Workforce Research Center on Allied Health.