Developing Federally Qualified Health Centers into Community ...

Community-Based Collaborative Care Network Program
The Affordable Care Act establishes a Community-Based Collaborative Care
Network Program that appears to have many similarities to the networks of Community
Care of North Carolina. The legislation states that a community-based collaborative care
network is a ―a consortium of health care providers with a joint governance structure . . .
that provides comprehensive coordinated and integrated health care services . . . for lowincome
populations.‖ Networks are to include FQHCs and hospitals, and priority for
funding will go to networks that include ―the broadest range of providers that currently
serve a high volume of low-income individuals‖—presumably including private
providers—and local health departments. The federally funded networks will support
private providers in a variety of ways, including by providing care management services
and ―expand[ing] capacity, including through telehealth, after-hours services, or urgent
care.‖ It appears that an FQHC could lead such a network, provided governance is shared
with a community of providers. The Affordable Care Act authorized such sums as may
be necessary to administer the program for fiscal years 2011–15. 36
Primary Care Extension Program
The federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality will award competitive
grants to states for the establishment of state or multistate Primary Care Extension
Program State Hubs. These hubs are intended to:
provide support and assistance to primary care providers to educate
providers about preventive medicine, health promotion, chronic disease
management, mental and behavioral health services (including substance
abuse prevention and treatment services), and evidence-based and
evidence-informed therapies and techniques, in order to enable providers
to incorporate such matters into their practice and to improve community
health by working with community-based health connectors (referred to in
this section as ―Health Extension Agents‖). 37
States will be awarded competitive grants to establish hubs. The hubs are to
include the state health department, the state Medicaid agency, and a medical school.
Other entities may collaborate with the core agencies in establishing the hubs. (Primary
Care Associations are specifically identified in the statute as potential partnering entities.)
The Affordable Care Act authorized $120 million for the Primary Care Extension
Program for fiscal year 2011.
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