In the fall of 2022, Congress passed the MOBILE Health Care Act. The law gives federally qualified health centers (FQHC) greater flexibility to use federal funding to create and operate mobile units in rural communities where there aren’t enough patients to support brick-and-mortar offices.
Why It Matters: Currently, almost 1,400 FQHCs nationwide receive federal funding for providing comprehensive health services in underserved areas. Up to this new law they were required to have brick and mortar locations, an expensive proposition which stymied expansion.
Rural residents face more significant healthcare provider shortages, including dentists, compared with their counterparts in larger cities. Since the beginning of the pandemic, mobile clinics have increased access to a range of services in hard-to-reach places with sparse populations. Mobile units would be a boon to West Virginia residents.
Yes BUT: For now, the law is dependent on congressional funding. It could be at least a year before FQMC centers can access the grant money. In early March, more than 2,000 health center advocates went to Washington, D.C. to ask lawmakers to support multiyear grant funding.
Action: Write to our state and federal officials and ask them to fund this new law as soon as possible.
For more see Modern Healthcare.com