UW Medicine Newsroom recently spotlighted a two-part UW Medicine/UW CHWS study on COVID-19 relief funds. Led by UW CHWS Director Bianca Frogner in collaboration with UW CHWS Assistant Deputy Director Paula Kett and researchers at the University of South Carolina and Boston University, the study analyzed how $23 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funds were distributed among 1,352 federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). The findings, published in Health Affairs and the Journal of Ambulatory Care Management, revealed major disparities in funding allocations.
Some centers received as little as $19, while others were awarded up to $1.2 billion. Rural clinics and those serving more uninsured and unhoused patients received higher funding, whereas centers with younger, diverse, and Medicaid-heavy populations received less. Frogner emphasized that underfunded centers struggled with vaccine distribution and telehealth expansion.
As pandemic-era funding fades, Frogner warned that smaller clinics may face financial hardship, calling for continued investment in equitable healthcare access. “Though our studies find that many health centers received a significant short-term financial boost during the pandemic, health centers need long-term investments, such as with the Bipartisan Health Workforce Innovation Act, to sustain a workforce to deliver high quality primary care,” said Frogner, senior author of both papers.
Read more here and check out two parts of the study below:
- Part 1: How Financial Support During the COVID Crisis Affected the Federally Qualified Health Center Workforce
- Part 2: How Financial Support During the COVID Crisis Affected the Federally Qualified Health Center Workforce: An Update