HHS Awards Almost $55 Million to Expand Virtual Care Services at Community Health Centers

Federal officials are issuing grants of between $1.4 million and $2 million to 29 community health centers across 14 states and Puerto Rico to help them expand their virtual care and digital health footprints.

The federal government delivered a much-needed valentine to 29 health centers on Monday with the release of nearly $55 million to support virtual care services for underserved populations.

The money, announced by the Health and Human Services Department through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), supports an ongoing effort by the government to help federally qualified and community health centers and rural health clinics use innovative new technologies, such as digital health tools and telehealth and remote patient monitoring platforms, to address access issues caused in part by the pandemic.

“Virtual care has been a game-changer for patients, especially during the pandemic,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a press release. “This funding will help health centers leverage the latest technology and innovations to expand access to quality primary care for underserved communities. Today’s announcement reflects the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to advancing health equity and putting essential health care within reach for all Americans.” 

In all, 29 community health centers in 14 states and Puerto Rico will be receiving one-time grants of between $1.4 million and $2 million to expand their virtual care platform.

“Today’s awards will help ensure that new ways to deliver primary care are reaching the communities that need it most,” added HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson. “Our funding will help health centers continue to expand their virtual work while maintaining their vital in-person services in communities across the country.”

Through the American Rescue Plan and efforts like the Federal Communications Commission’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program and Connected Care Pilot Program, federal officials are looking to build momentum for virtual care services, which were mired in a low adoption rate prior to the pandemic but have seen a surge over the past two years.

Health centers have been especially busy, reported a 6,000% increase in virtual visits and a 130% percent increase in centers using digital health from 2019 to 2020. There are more than 1,400 of them scattered across the country, serving some 29 million people a year, the majority of which are living at or below 200% of the federal poverty line and faced with financial, societal and physical barriers to accessing care.

While this increase in the use of virtual care is good, it may also be unsustainable. Much of the growth is tied to emergency federal and state waivers issued during the public health emergency to expand access to and payer coverage of virtual care during the pandemic. Some states have made improved their virtual care guidelines since then, but many of those waivers will end when the PHE does, forcing care providers to drop services that are no longer sustainable.

Support has been growing to pressure Congress to make many, if not all, of those waivers permanent. In January some 336 organizations, led by the American Telemedicine Association (ATA), Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), Consumer Technology Association (CTA), Alliance for Connected Care and others, sent a letter urging Congress to enact permanent telehealth reform.