Build a Call Script
Use the Information Below to Build Your Own Call Script
STEP 1: Introduce Yourself
Name, Title, and Experience with your Community Health Center
Where your Headquarters and Satellites are Located
Number of Patients Served in 2020
Major Service Categories (medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy, vision, etc.)
Payer Mix (stress Medicaid and Uninsured)
Demographics of Your Patients (race/ethnicity, languages and cultures, poverty rate, common diagnoses, etc.)
STEP 2: Educate to the Differences Between Look-Alikes & Grantees
There are two types of FQHCs: grantees and Look-Alikes. We are a Look-Alike. While there are over 1,300 grantees in the US, there are just over 100 Look-Alikes in the US. Look-Alikes provide care to over 600k patients.
We adhere to all the same compliance requirements under the FQHC program as grantees, hence we are called Look-Alikes.
Look-Alikes fall under the Social Security Act whereas Grantees falls under the Public Health Services Act. Both are managed by the Bureau of Primary Health Care’s Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
Grantees have been around since the mid-1960s. Look-Alikes were created in 1990 to increase access to care without reliance on congressionally appropriated funds.
To date, $8.9 billion of stimulus funds have been granted to FQHC grantees via COVID-related stimulus funding. Only two grants totaling $166 million have been awarded to Look-Alikes.
STEP 3: The Impact of COVID-19 to Your CHC
Tell the story of how COVID impacted your patients, your communities, your staff, and your health center operations. Consider highlighting these points:
Patients served in 2020
Number of patients tested for COVID-19
Number of patients vaccinated for COVID-19
Loss of revenue from drop in face-to-face encounters
Struggles transitioning to telehealth
Number of staff laid off or furloughed
Number of staff not reporting to work due to COVID-19 symptoms
Stress, burnout, and turnover at your health center
Clinics shut down or reduced hours of operation
Use the STIMULUS CALCULATOR to demonstrate what you would have received as a Section 330 grantee, what you’ve received as a LAL who applied for and received the two stimulus grants to date, and how you’ve leveraged these funds to respond to the pandemic and stabilize your operations.
Express need for continued relief funding for LALs and inclusion of LALs in funding opportunities for future public emergencies, infrastructure packages, and other opportunities advanced to Section 330 grantees.
STEP 4: Ask for Support
Let them know the National Association for Community Health Centers (NACHC) introduced a letter (dated April 8th) to Democrat and Republican party leadership in the house, asking that the Public Health Services (PHS) Act be amended, to allow Look-Alikes to receive emergency and supplemental funding.
Let them know two grants have been passed to include LALs in grant opportunities previously exclusive to Section 330 grantees. All because LALs educated their representatives to the difference between these two entities.
Ask for their email address so you can forward the letter.
Ask who in their office is the best point of contact for healthcare related policy/legislation issues and take down their information.
Point them to our website and have them reach out via our contact form. We’d be happy to chat with them about LAL issues.
Follow-up every week. Be persistent. in your efforts.
