Suffolk Review Shows Federal Designation for Health Centers Can Enhance Care and Control Costs

 A report from the Suffolk County Health Center Financial Review Committee has determined that the designation of Suffolk's health services network as a Federally Qualified Health Center would make the county eligible for additional reimbursement and give greater access to enhanced services.

The report noted that benefits of FQHC status would also enable Suffolk to control taxpayer costs paid annually to subsidize operations at the county's nine community health centers which hosts more than 280,000 annual patient visits – a deficit which is projected for 2010 at over $37 million, and can be expected to continue to rise annually with reductions in state aid.

"Attaining Federally Qualified Heath Center status for our network would ease a tremendous burden on our taxpayers while at the same time promote primary care and safety-net services to medically underserved populations," said Levy.

Federally Qualified Health Centers were established in the 1990s as an effort to bring low-cost comprehensive health care to underserved communities, and the federal government has been providing incentives to local health centers to seek FQHC status. An FHQC is a separate legal entity that  may  receive a grant under Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act and receives enhanced Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement .  The Suffolk FQHC has the potential to receive almost $7.5 million annually.

Other benefits to an FQHC include access to favorable drug pricing,  eligibility to apply for malpractice coverage under the Federal Tort Claim Act, and access to other Federal grant opportunities that are not currently available to counties.

Levy said that Suffolk applying for FQHC status as a public entity will  enable the county to jointly manage the existing health center network along with a co-applicant board whose majority includes representatives from the health center patient population.