Months into the COVID-19 Pandemic, Community Health Centers Report Signs of Improvement, But Face Financial Uncertainty

This policy brief reports on the COVID-19 experience of the nation’s community health centers over a six-month period, utilizing data from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA’s) weekly Health Center COVID-19 Survey from April 3rd, 2020 to October 2nd, 2020. The data demonstrate that community health centers were immediately responsive to the public health crisis, initiating diagnostic testing for the COVID-19 virus, and adapting care such as telehealth to address patient needs. However, with visits down overall and limited financial relief, the pandemic has taken an enormous financial toll on health centers. Cumulative patient revenue losses over six months are estimated at $3.364 billion, which amounts to nearly 11 percent of total health center revenue reported nationally in 2019.The issue brief can be found here.