Apply for Health Center Program’s Service Area Competition

Deadline: 4-Oct-21

The Department of Health and Human Services and Health Resources and Services Administration is pleased to announce the opportunity to apply for funding under the Health Center Program’s Service Area Competition (SAC).

The Health Center Program supports domestic public or private, nonprofit community-based and patient-directed organizations that provide primary health care services to the Nation’s medically underserved populations. The purpose of the SAC notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is to ensure continued access to comprehensive, culturally competent, high-quality primary health care services for communities and populations currently served by the Health Center Program.

In addition to the Health Center Program requirements, specific requirements for funding under each population type are:

Community Health Center (CHC) Applicants:
- Ensure compliance with PHS Act and program regulations, requirements, and policies.
- Provide a plan that ensures the availability and accessibility of required primary health care services to underserved populations in the service area.
Migrant Health Center (MHC) Applicants:
- Ensure compliance with PHS Act; and, as applicable, program regulations, requirements, and policies.
- Provide a plan that ensures the availability and accessibility of required primary health care services to migratory and seasonal agricultural workers and their families in the service area, which includes:
- Migratory agricultural workers who are individuals whose principal employment is in agriculture, who have been so employed within the last 24 months, and who establish for the purposes of such employment a temporary abode;
- Seasonal agricultural workers who are individuals whose principal employment is in agriculture on a seasonal basis and who do not meet the definition of a migratory agricultural worker;
- Individuals who are no longer employed in migratory or seasonal agriculture because of age or disability who are within such catchment area; and/or
- Family members of the individuals.
Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) Applicants:
- Ensure compliance with PHS Act; and, as applicable, program regulations, requirements, and policies.
- Provide a plan that ensures the availability and accessibility of required primary health care services to individuals:
  - Who lack housing (without regard to whether the individual is a member of a family);
  - Whose primary residence during the night is a supervised public or private facility that provides temporary living accommodations;
  - Who reside in transitional housing;
  - Who reside in permanent supportive housing or other housing programs that are targeted to homeless populations; and/or
  - Who are children and youth at risk of homelessness, homeless veterans, and veterans at risk of homelessness.
- Provide substance use disorder services.
Public Housing Primary Care (PHPC) Applicants:
- Ensure compliance with PHS Act; and, as applicable, program regulations, requirements, and policies.
- Provide a plan that ensures the availability and accessibility of required primary health care services to residents of public housing and individuals living in areas immediately accessible to public housing. Public housing includes public housing agency-developed, owned, or assisted low-income housing, including mixed finance projects, but excludes housing units with no public housing agency support other than Section 8 housing vouchers.
- Consult with residents of the proposed public housing sites regarding the planning and administration of the program.

Funding Information

HRSA estimates approximately $243,744,000 to be available annually to fund 81 recipients.
The period of performance is May 1, 2022 through April 30, 2025 (up to 3 years). Funding beyond the first year is subject to the availability of appropriated funds for the Health Center Program in subsequent fiscal years, satisfactory recipient performance, and a decision that continued funding is in the best interest of the Federal Government.

Eligibility Criteria

You must be a domestic public or private, nonprofit entity, as demonstrated through the submission of the Evidence of Non-profit/Public Center Status. Faith-based and community-based organizations, Tribes, and tribal organizations are eligible to apply.
You must propose in the RESPONSE section of the Project Narrative to operate a health center that makes all required primary health care services10 available and accessible in the service area, either directly or through established arrangements, without regard for ability to pay. You may not propose to provide ONLY a single service or any subset of the required primary health care services.
You must provide continuity of services, ensuring availability and accessibility of services to residents of the service area, by proposing to serve an announced service area, as well as:
- Patients: The total number of unduplicated patients that you project to serve in calendar year 2023 (January 1 – December 31, 2023) as entered on Form 1A: General Information Worksheet must be at least 75 percent of the SAAT Patient Target.
- Services: You must project patients on Form 1A: General Information Worksheet for each Service Type (e.g., Medical, Mental Health, Enabling) listed for the service area in the SAAT.
- Service Area: If you are a new or competing supplement applicant, you must enter Service Area Zip Codes on Form 5B: Service Sites for service delivery sites (administrative-only sites will not be considered) that:
  - Include a combination of SAAT Service Area Zip Codes where zip code patient percentages total at least 75 percent of the current patients served; or
  - Include all SAAT Service Area Zip Codes for the proposed service area, if the sum of all zip code patient percentages is less than 75 percent of the current patients served.
- Populations: You must propose to serve all population types listed in the SAAT (i.e., CHC, MHC, HCH, and/or PHPC) and maintain the funding distribution from the SAAT in the federal funding request. You may not add new population types.
If you are a new or competing supplement applicant, you must propose at least one new full-time permanent, fixed building service site on Form 5B: Service Sites. You must provide a verifiable street address for each proposed site on Form 5B: Service Sites.
You must propose to provide access to services for all individuals in the service area and target population, as described in the RESPONSE section of the Project Narrative. In instances where one or more services will be provided at a location that targets a sub-population (e.g., a school-based site that targets school-aged children), you must ensure that all health center services will be made available and accessible to others who seek services at the proposed site(s). You may not propose to serve only a single sub-population.
Public Housing Primary Care Applicants only: If you are a new or competing supplement applicant applying for funding, you must demonstrate that you have consulted with residents of public housing in the preparation of the SAC application. You must also ensure ongoing consultation with the residents regarding the planning and administration of the health center, as documented in the GOVERNANCE section of the Project Narrative.