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Our analysis is not legal, medical, financial, tax, or regulatory advice. Read the original source and talk to a qualified professional before you act.
Our analysis is not legal, medical, financial, tax, or regulatory advice. Read the original source and talk to a qualified professional before you act.
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Policy, funding, jobs, AI, and career guides for community health centers. Every post links to its sources. Older posts stay up, marked as past.
After you read, these pages help you act.
Daily habit
One page with the latest facts, each with its source.
State context
Compare Medicaid rules, payer mix, and staffing pressure by state.
Board ready
See the dates, dollars, and risks to bring to your board.
Workforce
FQHC jobs, pay ranges, and career tools.
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52 articles
Data Report
U.S. employers added 57,000 jobs in June 2026. Health care added 22,000, below its 38,000 trend. The slowdown hit ambulatory care, where health centers sit.
Data Report
Brazil, Costa Rica, Thailand, Ontario, Alaska's Nuka, and other community primary care models, measured against U.S. FQHCs on outcomes and cost.
Data Report
Every U.S. health center faces the December 31, 2026 funding cliff, Medicaid work rules, and 340B pressure. Some states backfill and some retreat. What the growing centers did.
Workforce & Labor
California health care unions, NLRA rules, protected activity, and SB 525 bargaining, written for both managers and workers at FQHCs.
Career Resources
California paused its state CHW certificate in November 2023. This Spanish-first guide covers Medi-Cal billing, ECM, pay, and interviews. The CHW Core Competencies course completes the CHW certificate pathway.
Policy & Strategy
CMS-2454-IFC sets an 80-hour monthly rule that takes full effect by January 1, 2027. About 5.6 million health-center patients could be affected. A guide for eligibility, navigation, and front-desk teams.
Policy & Strategy
On December 31, 2026, the $4.6 billion federal Community Health Center Fund, California's CalAIM waiver, and the Medi-Cal MCO tax all expire. Each one carries a different risk.
AI in Healthcare
OpenEvidence grew from a $1 billion to a $12 billion company in about 11 months. A reported 65% of U.S. doctors use it free, paid for by drug ads.
Election Analysis
In California's June 2, 2026 primary, LA's Measure ER passed and Contra Costa's Medicaid backfill tax failed. Three health measures, including a 90% FQHC spending mandate, made the November ballot.
Data Report
U.S. employers added 172,000 jobs in May 2026, and health care led with 35,000. At the same time, health centers face federal funding cuts.
Compliance & Risk
Lawsuits over AI scribes, algorithm-based claim denials, and website tracking pixels are reaching California courts. A timeline, a risk self-check, and a CIPA calculator for FQHCs.
Policy & Strategy
Newsom signed the 2026-27 budget on June 29. SB 525 and Section 504 still apply now. UIS/PPS, UIS dental, and Prop 56 dental cuts move to July 1, 2027.
Policy & Strategy
The signed budget moved the UIS/PPS cut from July 2026 to July 1, 2027. This CFO worksheet helps you build your own estimate.
Strategy
C3's 2024 results, $10.2 million net and 8.1% savings, show an FQHC-governed Medicare ACO can succeed. California health centers that use OCHIN can apply its lessons.
Clinical Operations
The three CoCM roles, the patient registry, measurement-based care, and how Medicare codes G0568, G0569, and G0570 pay for work your team already does.
Policy & Strategy
California's Medi-Cal MCO tax pays for the primary care rate floor in FQHC payments. This explains the tax as it stood before the June 15, 2026 budget deadline.
Compliance & Risk
Section 504's accessible medical equipment deadline is July 8, 2026. The web deadline is separate, in May 2027. Accessible exam tables and scales belong in your capital plan.
Compliance & Risk
On July 1, 2026, SB 525 raises California's health care minimum wage to $22 an hour at FQHCs. Workers get the raise; budgets need to plan for it.
Policy Watch
H.R. 8629, from Reps. Ruiz and Bilirakis, would prioritize NHSC, fund loan repayment, and build CHW and behavioral health pipelines for FQHCs. The bill is at an early stage.
Policy & Strategy
FQHCs can bill APCM codes G0556, G0557, and G0558 for monthly Medicare care management with no downside-risk contract. CY2026 adds BHI codes and retires G0512 and G0071.
Data Report
Four California FQHCs held flat at 540 live job postings in May 2026, with no FQHC WARN layoff notices. Meanwhile, 86,000+ undocumented Californians left Medi-Cal.
Policy Watch
California's CHW Medi-Cal benefit has reached fewer than 6,000 of about 15 million members since July 2022, for under $1 million total. AB 403 is inactive for 2026.
Policy Analysis
Newsom's May 14, 2026 revision kept every January Medi-Cal cut and added four, including an asset limit and the end of Prop 56 payments. A line-by-line budget read for FQHCs.
Policy Analysis
California's CalAIM 1115 waiver expires December 31, 2026. About $1.2 billion a year for ECM and Community Supports rides on renewal. We expect a narrower renewal.
Data Report
U.S. health care added 37,000 jobs in April 2026, but four California FQHCs lost 17 net job postings. Plus the $662 million LA County public health cut.
Compliance
On April 23, OCR settled four HIPAA ransomware cases for $1.165 million, affecting 427,000 patients. All four failed the Security Rule risk analysis.
Strategy
Microsoft Dragon Copilot's public pricing includes a rural discount. Hippocratic AI has physician founders. Many U.S. doctors already use OpenEvidence. Why these three matter for community health.
Strategy
Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google launched health care AI products in early 2026 with 23 named launch customers. None were FQHCs. What NACHC, OCHIN, and FQHC leaders can do this quarter.
Strategy
LA County's Measure ER passed, and the half-cent sales tax starts October 1, 2026. LA FQHCs now need plans for bridge funding, allocation, and reporting.
Strategy
A dated briefing on vision care access estimates, public program data, one vendor-written case, an active trial, and the local checks to do before adding a service.
Strategy
Five questions on local need, staff, scope, payers, referrals, AI screening, privacy, access, cost, and governance before you decide to pilot, defer, or skip vision care.
Technology & AI
A review of dated FDA records, study results, coverage and coding, one vendor-written FQHC case, an active trial, and the local checks needed before adoption.
Strategy
In April 2026, CalMatters reported a drop in a California pediatric eye-exam measure. The report does not establish cause, a current fee, local demand, or FQHC break-even.
Strategy
Access estimates, which visits count for PPS, staffing, AI screening, partners, and the local numbers an FQHC needs before planning a vision service.
Compliance
HHS moved the Section 504 web and mobile accessibility deadline to May 11, 2027 (May 2028 for groups under 15 staff). A 12-month plan to audit, fix, and document.
Data Report
Health care added 76,000 jobs in March 2026, but FQHCs struggled to fill roles. BLS data, NACHC vacancies, 40% NP growth, and Medicaid cuts facing California health centers.
Data Report
Most FQHCs are independent community nonprofits. Our analysis of CMS NPPES data found 40 run by hospital districts, public universities, and county governments. Who they are and why governance matters.
Data Report
In HRSA's 2024 UDS data, FQHCs in the 9 non-expansion states had 26.5% uninsured patients, against 16.7% in expansion states. The gap widens as ACA tax credits expire.
Technology & AI
81% of physicians report using health AI (AMA, 2026), and ambient scribes are spreading fast. How AI note-taking is changing FQHC work and your role.
Policy & Strategy
Public Law 119-21 requires cost sharing for some Medicaid expansion adults beginning October 1, 2028, with exclusions for certain services and sites. This brief does not forecast patient demand.
Data Report
Health care lost 28,000 jobs in February 2026 during the Kaiser strike, after creating 121% of U.S. job growth over 12 months. Congress has cut $911 billion from Medicaid.
Career Resources
Practical steps to negotiate pay at an FQHC. How grant-funded pay works, how to show bilingual and ECM skills, and how to compare total pay beyond salary.
Benefits
Check health coverage, retirement, PTO, schedules, and training money before you compare offers. NHSC and PSLF loan help are separate paths.
Career Guidance
Compare FQHC, private practice, and hospital jobs on pay, NHSC eligibility, benefits, scope, stability, schedule, and work culture.
Interview Prep
STAR-format answers for FQHC interviews on ECM, cultural competency, EHR use, and team-based care, for California community health center jobs.
Benefits & Compensation
Eligible clinicians at approved FQHC sites can use NHSC loan repayment to pay down school loans. Eligibility, award types, site status, service terms, and when to apply.
Clinical Operations
How FQHCs use team-based care, standing orders, delegation, and clear roles to improve access without pushing staff past legal scope or training.
Career Growth
Common FQHC career paths for MAs, RNs, CHWs, and providers. How to talk about scope, certifications, pay ranges, bilingual skills, and readiness for the next step.
Career Resources
Free FQHC resume templates for 8 roles. Show ECM, EHR systems, bilingual skills, and other skills health centers look for, with ready-to-copy summaries and bullets.
Career Resources
ECM experience can open FQHC career paths. What ECM is, which roles it supports, which skills matter, and how to compare ECM job postings.
Career Resources
In February 2026, Medi-Cal funding cuts put community health worker jobs at risk. The June 2026 budget later delayed major clinic and dental cuts to July 1, 2027.