Impact of FQHC Implementation on Community Health Center Revenue and Utilization.Final Report

摘要

This study assesses the impact of the Medicaid Federally Qualified Health Center(FQHC) legislation on revenue and utilization of Community Health Centers (CHCs). The study uses descriptive statistics and multivariate techniques to examine the experience of federally-funded CHCs between 1989 and 1992. Analyses suggest that the FQHC legislation has had a positive impact on health center financing and on access to care for Medicaid recipients and the uninsured. Study results also suggest that FQHC impact on utilization differed according to center size. For smaller centers experiencing significantly higher growth rates for both all insurers and for Medicaid users, higher reimbursement rates under FQHC may have provided incentive to increase their Medicaid caseloads. Larger centers, on the other hand. experienced significantly greater absolute increases in Medicaid users, but not in their total user populations.