Support FQHC Look-Alikes

The Voice for Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alikes

FQHC Look-Alikes need equal funding to serve their communities

What is an FQHC Look-Alike?

Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alikes were created in 1990 to increase access to primary care. Look-Alikes were created at a time when federal funds were not available to support more community health centers. There are over 150 Look-Alikes across the nation serving over 1 million patients.

  • Although Look-Alikes and 330 Grantees are held to the same clinical, financial, and administrative requirements as all FQHCs, Look-Alikes are not eligible for base grant funding, supplemental funding or Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) benefits.

  • Right now, the only pathway is through the New Access Point (NAP) application.

  • The NAP is a comprehensive application administered by HRSA, in which Look-Alikes and new community health centers compete for federal funds.

  • The short answer is not necessarily. In the last NAP process, only a small percentage of Look-Alikes became 330s grantees.

  • Change statutory language to allow LALs to compete for supplemental funding. Right now, LALs are ineligible for supplement funding opportunities even though many LALs are subject matter experts and are best positioned to serve their communities.

    Create a new pipeline for LALs to become 330 Grantees. Right now, the only way for LALs to become 330 Grantees is through a NAP or a Service Area Competition. We recommend creating a new pathway for LALs to become 330 Grantees.

    Require all new FQHCs to start as LALs: All entities seeking to become FQHCs should be required to go through the LAL pipeline as the initial step for a temporary period of time. This process will streamline the transition and ensure that new FQHCs are well-prepared to meet the rigorous standards of care and documentation that HRSA requires as they do of the FQHC fully funded 330 grantees.

    Suspend or cap new LAL designations: We recommend either suspending new LAL designations or at least capping them to ensure the sustainability of current LAL operations. This measure will help maintain the quality and effectiveness of existing services and allow for existing LAL’s to achieve full-330 status.

    Grandfather in all existing LALs and eliminate the LAL program. This would eliminate the two-tiered system and strengthen community health centers as a whole.

Our Impact

There are over 150 federally qualified community health center Look-Alikes in the United States, providing care to over 1 million lives.

Like fully-funded FQHCs, Look-Alikes do not turn patients away for lack of insurance or inability to pay. They offer discounted services to individuals and families living in poverty, assist the uninsured with insurance enrollment, provide non-emergent medical transportation to and from appointments, offer translation and interpretation to patients, and so much more. They are a safety net provider - on the front lines of screening, testing, and vaccinating our most vulnerable populations.

They are a source of care and compassion, an essential service, a place of employment, and a significant economic driver in many communities across America. Because they do not receive grant dollars from HRSA, many are in a state of constant financial stress.