Most people don’t think too much about how their local health clinic is funded, but recent shakeups in Washington D.C. may force Virginians to do just that.
As part of President Donald Trump’s federal funding freeze, Virginia’s federally qualified health centers, or FQHCs, are currently missing millions in federal grant dollars.
Paula Tomko is the CEO for Central Virginia Health Services. They provide affordable primary care for medical, dental, behavioral and pharmacy services to 45,000 patients at 20 sites that stretch from the Northern Neck down to Charles City and even Charlottesville.
They've offered these services on a sliding scale thanks to federal grant funding, but for the first time in their 50-year history, CVHS is worried about what care they can provide, including replacing a breast cancer detector at the end of its life in Buckingham County.
“We’re afraid to make the commitment even though it's covered in one of our grants because we have not been able to access the amount of funds needed to replace that piece of machinery," Tomko told Radio IQ. "So, we have not had to do any layoffs or close sites or do things like that, but we’re certainly talking about it if this freeze goes on.”
Tomko’s organization is one of 31 such federally funded health centers across the state.
The health centers usually apply for grants at different agencies. Once approved, the funds are available via draw down requests. Those funds come from the Health Resources and Services Administration. The clinics use a portal to request the funds but requests have not been getting consistently processed.
In an email, an HRSA spokesperson said they were aware some users of their payment system were experiencing "technical issues"
"The system is back up and running now, but users may be experiencing lags due to the high volume of requests," the agency spokesman said. "HHS is working through the Program Support Center to help expedite resolution as quickly as possible."
According to Joe Stevens with the Virginia Community Healthcare Association, the group that lobbies for the state's FQHCs, 16 systems faced problems when trying to draw down funds since President Donald Trump’s order was issued last week.
The funds usually cover salaries, and it's already caused some services to be cut in some corners of the state.
“Without their employees being paid, not only services will have to be shut down but locations as well,” Stevens said.
Some funds are starting to flow; with five of the 16 beleaguered centers getting some money. But Tomko said they still haven’t received $1.2 million they tried to draw down last week. It usually takes 24 hours to process such requests.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
