I am a big fan of New York State's community health centers (technically termed federally qualified health centers, or FQHCs); I always call them the "jewels in the crown of our health system".
Briefly, between 2002 and 2009, 64,093 participants 40 79 years of age were recruited from community health centers from 12 states in the southeast U.S. Community health centers (i.e., federally qualified health centers) are government-funded health care facilities offering basic health care services to the medically underserved (11).
The broad outpatient visits category included office, outpatient hospital, ambulatory surgical center, federally qualified health center, state or local public health clinic, rural health clinic, and community mental health center visits.
Patients were identified through general medicine clinics of a large safety-net health system (17% of participants), its affiliated diabetes education center (58%), and the local network of federally qualified health centers (25%).
Per data compiled by the Guttmacher Institute, as of 2010, there were 126 federally qualified health centers in the state that provide contraceptive services, relative to 25 Planned Parenthood health centers in receipt of public funds, or approximately five federally funded centers that provide contraceptive care for every one Planned Parenthood health center.
Commercial payers identify qualified HCT centers based on accreditation status and comparative performance, enabled in part by center-level comparative performance data available within a national outcomes database mandated by the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005.
These organizations that provide full program medical care services (e.g., federally qualified health centers) are often so overworked with treating diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and other chronic disease that family planning becomes an afterthought.
Burton replied: "We have 52 federally qualified health centers, the counties have health departments, physicians' offices, independent clinics would be eligible if they applied and met the requirements".
The state list of federally qualified health centers that Berman received the next day includes 67 schools ranging from the elementary to high school level.
Her organization runs the nation's largest network of federally qualified health centers, meaning it serves the working poor (via Medicaid, the joint state-federal program) and the uninsured.
"Your termination and that of all your affiliates will not affect access to care in this state because there are thousands of alternate providers in Texas, including federally qualified health centers, Medicaid-certified rural health clinics, and other health care providers across the state that participate in the Texas Women's Health Program and Medicaid," the letter said.
