August 27, 2024

As of 2024, 62% of federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) offer medication-assisted treatment (MAT) up from 27% in 2018. Additionally, 88% of FQHCs offer short-term mental health services, similar to the 87% that offered such services in 2018. Another 70% offered long-term mental health counseling (similar to the 68% that offered it in 2018), and 66% offered addiction disorder treatment (an increase from 54% in 2018). 

FQHCs are community-based outpatient clinics that provide primary medical, dental, behavioral, and other health care services. They are funded through a combination of federal funding, Medicaid reimbursements, and other revenues. At the time of the 2024 survey, there were 1,368 centers operating in more than 15,000 service sites. 

In 2024, more FQHCs had difficulties staffing behavioral health positions, on-site and in the community. About 70% say they lack on-site staff to provide services, compared to 63% in 2018. A full 91% said that there are insufficient behavioral health provider organizations in their community (up from 86% in 2018). 

In 2024, 76% of community health centers screen all their consumers for behavioral health needs. This includes 74% of urban community health centers, and 81% of rural community health centers. 

These findings were reported in “Community Health Centers’ Progress and Challenges in Meeting Patients’ Essential Primary Care Needs: Findings from the Commonwealth Fund 2024 National Survey of Federally Qualified Health Centers” by Celli Horstman, Corinne Lewis, Alexandra Bryan, and Sara Federman. The researchers analyzed the results of the Commonwealth Fund 2024 National Survey of Federally Qualified Health Centers, conducted by SSRS from October 17, 2023, through April 2, 2024. The surveys were sent to a nationally representative sample of executive directors, clinical directors, or project directors at federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). The survey sample was drawn from the Uniformed Data System (UDS) list of all FQHCs in 2022 that have at least one site that is a community-based primary care clinic. The National Association of Community Health Centers provided the list. A total of 766 responses were included in the analysis. 

The full text of “Community Health Centers’ Progress and Challenges in Meeting Patients’ Essential Primary Care Needs: Findings from the Commonwealth Fund 2024 National Survey of Federally Qualified Health Centers” was published August 8, 2024, by the Commonwealth Fund.