Texas Insider

By David A. Diaz – Legislative Media

The Texas Association of Community Health Centers (TACHC) recently presented one of its coveted Legislative Champion Award to Rep. Armando “Mando” Martínez, D-Weslaco, for his successful efforts to provide needed funding for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) across Texas, including in the Valley.

Federally Qualified Health Centers are designed to provide crucial medical care for thousands of working families in Texas.

Equally important, FQHCs allow patients to be diagnosed and treated before their illnesses or injuries become worse, which often result in trips to local hospital emergency rooms, he noted.

“The high number of uninsured threatens the financial viability of local health-care systems,” Martínez explained. “These clinics treat people who do not have insurance and help relieve the burden on emergency rooms in terms of both service levels and uncompensated care costs.”

Nuestra Clinica del Valle, which has offices in McAllen, Edinburg, Alton, Donna, Mercedes, San Juan, Edcouch and Mercedes, the Brownsville Community Health Clinic, and the Community Action Council of South Texas, which serves Starr and Willacy counties, are among the Federally Qualified Health Centers based in the Rio Grande Valley.

Martínez was honored for his work as the House sponsor of Senate Bill 526, by Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, which will keep alive a critical FQHC incubator program that will provide an avenue for funding new clinics and offers a way to award grants to expand services in existing centers.

“These centers provide essential care to people throughout the Rio Grande Valley and across our state,” said TACHC Executive Director José E. Camacho. “By working to maintain critical funding, Rep. Martínez assures care will be available in areas where it’s needed most.”

Without Martínez’ legislation, the incubator program was set to expire on September 1, 2009.

SB 526 authorizes the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to continue a successful, multi-million dollar seed funding program that helps local community health centers – known as Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) – to obtain significantly-larger federal grants.

Martínez said he carried the legislation because the state program which provides the seed-money to attract matching federal funds, and the local government and non-profit agencies which serve uninsured and low-income Texans, have proven themselves over the years.

“I’m proud to have worked on legislation that touches the lives of people in my district, across the Rio Grande Valley and throughout Texas,” said Martínez. “These centers are essential delivery points for care.  We must assure they are in a position to meet current demands while also be ready to address the growing needs of our state.”

Martínez and one of his South Texas colleagues, Rep. Verónica Gonzáles, D-McAllen, were honored for the respective work on behalf of health care during an August 11 reception hosted in San Juan by TACHC.

The grants reauthorized by the Nelson/Martínez bill would help local community  health centers build the infrastructure needed to obtain federal grants. For  those centers that do not receive federal grants following receipt of a startup grant, SB 526 allows DSHS to make grants to support new  or expanded services at facilities qualified to be FQHCs.

“The grant process is competitive, and Texas must fight for limited funding with applicants  from other states,” said Martínez. “The continued investment in expanding services at  certain health centers will ensure that Texas could benefit from more facilities receiving federal grant money.”  

The needs to help current FQHCs and encourage the creation of new ones in Texas are significant, he said, noting that more than 200 Texas counties are designated as medically underserved areas. 

FQHCs provide health care services not only to low-income and uninsured residents, but also to families in communities which are designated as medically underserved communities.
 
The 78th Legislature, Regular Session, in 2003 enacted SB 610 directing the Department of State Health Services to create the federally qualified health center incubator program to make grants to establish new or expand existing facilities that can qualify as federally qualified health centers.  Set to expire in September, the Nelson/ Martínez bill has now done away with that deadline.

According to The Texas Association of Community Health Centers:

FQHC is a federal designation from the Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that is assigned to private non-profit or public health care organizations that serve predominantly uninsured or medically underserved populations.

FQHCs are located in or serving a Federally designated Medically Underserved Area/Population (MUA or MUP).

All FQHCs must operate under a consumer Board of Directors governance structure, and provide comprehensive primary health, oral, and mental health/substance abuse services to persons in all stages of the life cycle. FQHCs provide their services to all persons regardless of ability to pay, and charge for services on a Board approved sliding-fee scale that is based on patients’ family income and size.

FQHCs must comply with Section 330 program expectations/requirements and all applicable federal and state regulations.

Legislative Media reports on major legislation that affects South Texas. Russ Rhea contributed to this report. For more on this, and related stories and photographs, please log on to www.EdinburgPolitics.com