If you’ve ever driven through an American city, odds are you have seen a federally qualified health center (FQHC). FQHCs are safety-net medical providers dedicated to providing health services to people who may not otherwise have access to quality primary and outpatient care. According to one FQHC nurse, the facilities function to “fill gaps in our disaster of a health care system . . .  and to address health disparity and provide health care to folks who just can’t be part of the capitalist health care system in America.”

These clinics form the backbone of medical care for uninsured and underinsured Americans. In California alone, there are approximately 171 FQHCs and forty-three “look-alike” locations that function similarly but with key differences in their funding sources. In 2024, California FQHCS served nearly six million patients, 30 percent of whom are children, and the vast majority of whom live below the poverty line. Almost three-quarters of patients at these facilities received Medicaid benefits. Millions of Californians who may have otherwise been unable to receive medical care are supported by FQHCs.

FQHCs are unique compared to other medical facilities, in that they receive about 9 percent of their funding from a federal 330 grant that requires clinics to follow a strict set of requirements on who they serve, how they spend money, and how their governing bodies are composed. (“Look-alike” clinics do not receive these federal grants but still serve a similar function to certified FQHCs.) The other 91 percent of funding for these facilities come from other sources, namely revenue from medical services provided. Since a majority of FQHC patients are insured by Medicaid, that program’s funding is a primary lifeline of these health centers.