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HHS Awards $55 Million to Increase Virtual Care
By: Emily H. Lineweaver
On February 14, 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced it has awarded nearly $55 million to 29 Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)-funded health centers. This award of funds is in response to the significant growth in virtual visits reported by health centers and fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of reported virtual visits went from 478,333 in 2019 to 28,550,608 in 2020, a 6,000 percent increase, while the number of health centers offering virtual visits went from 592 in 2019 to 1,362, a 130 percent increase.
These funds are intended to build on the $7.3 billion in funding from the American Rescue Plan that was invested in community health centers to help alleviate the impact of COVID-19 by “increas[ing] health care access and quality for underserved populations through virtual care such as telehealth, remote patient monitoring, digital patient tools, and health information technology platforms.”
HRSA-funded health centers are described as “community-based and patient directed organizations that deliver affordable, accessible, high-quality medical, dental, and behavioral health services to nearly 29 million patients each year,” and serve as a source of primary care for at-risk communities across the nation. “This funding will help health centers leverage the latest technology and innovations to expand access to quality primary care for underserved communities,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. A full list of the award recipients can be found here.
