An Overview of Federal Health Center Funding
The primary form of federal funding for Community Health Centers is the Health Center Program, which is authorized in Section 330 of the Public Health Services Act. More commonly known as the “330 Grant,” funding for the Health Center Program comes from a combination of discretionary funding, appropriated by Congress each year, and mandatory funding from the Community Health Center Fund (CHCF).
Federal Health Center Appropriation History, FY10-FY23
Annual Appropriations (also call Discretionary) Funding
NACHC is working with Congress to ensure health center funding is included in the annual discretionary appropriations for FY24. This stream of funding is determined by the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Federal Community Health Center Fund (multi-year base grant funding)
This funding stream is determined by the Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee in the House of Representatives and by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee in the Senate. NACHC is focused on passing a bill to reauthorize the federal Community Health Center Fund, which is set to expire on September 30, 2023, the end of the federal fiscal year 2023 (FY23). The CHCF provides about 70% of federal funding for health centers and ensures stable, multi-year base grant funding for Section 330 grantees.
Learn more about NACHC’s efforts to secure stable, ongoing funding.
Public Health Service Act Section 330
The federal statute that creates and authorizes the Health Center Program is Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act. It gives the Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) the authority to grant awards to eligible entities and outlines the requirements that health centers must meet to be eligible for these awards. Health center Look-Alikes are also subject to these requirements, though they do not receive grant funding. The section 330 statute was most recently revised in February 2018 as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act.
Special and Vulnerable Populations
Under Section 330, many Health Center Program grantees receive additional federal funds to provide health care and social services for the general underserved community and populations in their service areas.
Learn more about special and vulnerable populations.
Learn more about Federal Health Center Funding requirements by visiting the Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC).
