Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Healthcare Access topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sponsor says bill closes state law gap so FQHC grants may fund land purchases
Summary
House Bill 43 would allow federally qualified health center (FQHC) grant dollars to be used for acquisition of land, removing a statutory restriction that sponsors say has blocked some projects’ expansion.
Delegate Lewis presented House Bill 43, which would amend state law to allow funds appropriated to federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) to be used for land acquisition for new clinics. "This bill is a straightforward fix to ensure that FQHCs can fully leverage state, capital dollars to fulfill their mission of providing high quality health care to those who need it most," Lewis told the Appropriations Committee.
Witnesses from the Maryland Association of Counties, Greater Baton Medical Services, and the Maryland Community Health System urged support. Carrington Anderson of the Maryland Association of Counties said the bill adds flexibility and benefits counties that partner with FQHCs. Jared Hawkins of Greater Baton described a $17 million capital project in Capital Heights that would expand services from about 12,000 to an estimated 30,000 patients and add roughly 20 clinicians; he said the inability to use grant funds for land acquisition threatened that expansion until a local workaround was found.
Sponsor testimony and witnesses framed the measure as removing an impediment to expansion of safety-net clinics that serve uninsured, underinsured and Medicaid populations. The committee recorded the presentations and questions but no vote or formal committee action appears in the transcript excerpt.
Implementation details — including any fiscal impact, eligible grant programs, and whether the change applies to existing awards — would be resolved in bill language and fiscal notes if the measure advances.
