This story was reported and written by VPM News.
Half of Virginia’s community health centers have been cut off from federal grant money, forcing some to stop providing certain services and others to close branches.
The commonwealth has 31 Federally Qualified Health Centers with over 200 locations — a majority of which serve rural areas with limited access to medical care. Annually, about 400,000 Virginians rely on the care provided by these nonprofit, community-based centers, according to the Virginia Community Healthcare Association.
They provide primary health, dental, behavioral health, and pharmaceutical and substance abuse services to people with Medicaid or Medicare, the underinsured and the uninsured. They also treat those with private insurance on a sliding fee scale.
Since Jan. 28, 16 of the state’s FQHCs have been unable to access federal funding that allows them to pay employees, according to Joe Stevens, a VCHA spokesperson.
“They use a majority of that funding for salaries, and without that funding, they can’t pay their employees. Without employees getting paid, they can’t operate their health centers, so it’s a domino effect,” Stevens said.
He said the difficulty accessing grants began after President Donald Trump’s administration announced a freeze on domestic and foreign aid last week. A U.S. District Court judge in Washington, D.C., granted a temporary stay blocking the order from taking effect immediately. The White House later rescinded its memo but has vowed to continue reviewing federal spending.
Despite the delayed spending freeze, multiple community health centers across Virginia have been unable to access their federal grants — blocking one of their three primary funding sources, along with Medicaid reimbursements and private insurance policy revenue.
Stevens said it’s unclear why some health centers have lost access to funding, while others have been unaffected. “We’re trying to get those answers as we speak,” he said.
The Capital Area Health Network, which operates seven FQHC facilities across Greater Richmond, sent an email to patients Tuesday morning announcing it would close several locations and transfer patients to other locations.
“Due to unforeseen federal restrictions under the new Presidential administration we were forced to consolidate our operations last week,” the email read.
Patients with appointments at Bermuda Medical Center, Southside Medical Center and Greater Fulton Medical Center are being diverted to Vernon J. Harris Medical and Dental Center, Northside Medical Center and the Pediatric Medical Center.
CAHN’s message to patients reiterated that the consolidation of services would have no impact on patient care. But Stevens said not all affected FQHCs have the benefit of multiple nearby locations.
“Some of our rural health centers could be 100 miles apart from each other,” he said. “If one center closes, patients will have to travel one hour, two hours to get to another location. So, the rural parts of the commonwealth will be affected more than some of the urban areas.”
Some of the state’s community clinics rely more on federal funding than others. Stevens said those locations could be forced to stop certain services or close entirely.
“I do know that a health center in southeastern Virginia is going to have to shut down their dental program,” Stevens said. “Not necessarily shutting down their locations, but patients won’t have access to dental care.”
VCHA is urging people to contact their local elected officials and request a bipartisan effort to resolve the funding issue.
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