Purchaser: Federally Qualified Health Centers Program: Primary and preventive health services for medically underserved areas Description: Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) can be either private nonprofit or public facilities that provide health care to low income people in medically underserved areas. A center is entitled to receive Medicaid reimbursement at 100 percent of cost.
In Texas, 30 of 32 FQHCs are Community Health Centers. The other two are FQHC "look alikes." A look alike center must meet all of the requirements imposed by law on Community Health Centers, but does not receive grants provided by the U.S. Public Health Service Act. Fifty-one percent of the governing board members of the centers must be consumers.
The FQHCs spent more than $126 million on health care services in Texas in fiscal 1997.
Texas Total, Fiscal 1997
Amount Spent: $126,302,068 Type of Funding: Public Health Service Grants $45,658,933 Medicaid Reimbursements $33,375,669 State Programs/Grants $15,291,027 Patient Fees $12,849,980 Programs/Grants $8,590,364 Medicare Reimbursements $6,305,488 Private Insurance $3,276,963 Ryan White $953,644 Number of Recipients: 415,000 people received health care services from Community Health Care Centers in 1997.
Average amount spent: $304/recipient in 1997
Source: Texas Association of Community Health Centers