Health Center Program

Key facts

Legal basis

Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b)

Administered by

HRSA Bureau of Primary Health Care

Award types

Community, migrant, homeless and public housing health centers

Participants

Grant-funded awardees and unfunded look-alikes

Annual reporting

Uniform Data System (UDS)

What is the Health Center Program?

The Health Center Program supports nonprofit and public organizations that deliver comprehensive primary care to anyone who walks in, regardless of ability to pay or insurance status. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) awards the grants and enforces program rules through its Health Center Program Compliance Manual.

Health centers provide medical care and, directly or through referral, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy and enabling services such as case management, transportation and translation. HRSA reports that about 90 percent of health center patients have incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.

How the program is structured

Section 330 funds four types of health centers:

• Community Health Centers, under Section 330(e), serving the general underserved population.
• Migrant Health Centers, under Section 330(g), serving migratory and seasonal agricultural workers.
• Health Care for the Homeless, under Section 330(h), serving people experiencing homelessness.
• Public Housing Primary Care, under Section 330(i), serving residents of public housing.

Core program requirements

Health centers must serve a Medically Underserved Area (MUA) or Medically Underserved Population (MUP), offer a sliding fee discount program, and be governed by a board on which patients of the health center make up a majority. They must also meet requirements on required services, staffing, quality improvement, financial management and billing. Look-alikes meet the same requirements without receiving Section 330 grant funds.

Why the Health Center Program matters

Program participation brings Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) payment rates from Medicare and Medicaid, eligibility for the 340B Drug Pricing Program and, for funded awardees, federal malpractice coverage under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Health centers are a large, identifiable prescriber and patient channel for low-income populations, and their annual Uniform Data System reports give analysts comparable data on patients, services, quality and finances.