Federally Qualified Health Center - Federally Qualified Health Center Advanced Primary Care Practice (FQHC APCP)

Federally Qualified Health Center Advanced Primary Care Practice (FQHC APCP)

In June 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services announced the Federally Qualified Health Center Advanced Primary Care Practice (FQHC APCP) demonstration project. This demonstration project is conducted under the authority of Section 1115A of the Social Security Act, which was added by section 3021 of the ACA and establishes the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Innovation Center). The CMS and Innovation Center in partnership with HRSA will operate the demonstration. This initiative was designed to evaluate the impact of the advanced primary care practice (APCP) model, also referred to as the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) on improving health, quality of care and lowering the cost of care provided to Medicare beneficiaries. "Medicare Demonstrations: FQHC APCP FAQs.". Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. https://www.cms.gov/demoprojectsevalrpts/md/itemdetail.asp?itemid=CMS1230557. The ACA will pay an estimated $42 million over three years (November 1, 2011 to October 31, 2014) to 500 FQHCs to coordinate care for 195,000 Medicare patients. Participating FQHCs agree to adopt care coordination practices set by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and are expected to achieve Level 3 patient-centered medical home recognition.

President Bush launched the Health Centers Initiative to significantly increase access to primary health care services in 1,200 communities through new or expanded health center sites. Between 2001 and 2006, the number of patients treated at health centers has increased by over 4.7 million, representing a nearly 50 percent increase in just five years. In 2006 the number of patients served topped the 15 million mark for the first time.

Throughout the United States there are over 1,000 health centers that operate approximately 6,000 sites. In 2010, the health centers served an estimated 20 million patients. The data collected via the Uniform Data System (UDS) reports that of those patients served, 62 percent were members of a racial or ethnic minority (predominantly Hispanic), 93 percent lived at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, 72 percent lived at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level, and 38 percent were uninsured. In particular, during 2010 health centers served 862,775 migrant and seasonal farm workers and their families; more than 1 million individuals experiencing homelessness; and 172,731 residents of public housing. Moreover, The National Association of Community Health Centers forecasts that FQHCs will serve 40 million patients in 2015.