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FQHCs tell work group Health Assures funding runs out mid‑year, administration costs unpaid
Summary
Federally qualified health center representatives told the work group Health Assures pays a per‑visit fee, often leaves clinics to cover gaps when funds run out before year‑end, and that administrative costs were not budgeted; providers will submit invoicing summaries for the next meeting.
Representatives from federally qualified health centers told the Prince George's County work group that the Health Assures program’s payment model and funding levels create gaps clinics must cover. Sharon Zieluski, executive director of the Regional Primary Care Coalition, said the program’s per‑visit reimbursement often runs out before year‑end and that no funds were designated for program administration.
"5,000,005 million dollars was invoiced for. I think what we don't know is how much it costs, to administer the program, and we know that no money was put in there for administration of the program. And the other thing is is the gap. The funds have generally run out," Zieluski said, describing the discrepancy between invoiced amounts and actual costs and the administrative shortfalls that leave clinics covering services without reimbursement.
FQHCs agreed to provide summaries of the types of services they delivered, invoicing totals and where they have absorbed unreimbursed costs. Providers cautioned the group that compiling unduplicated client counts and service‑level encounter data is complex, and staff agreed to refine the data requests to avoid double counting.
