Intelligence archive

Comments on CMS's provider-tax implementation rule closed September 21 with no extension; the final rule is the next step

The public comment period on CMS-2452-P, the proposed rule implementing the provider-tax limits in Public Law 119-21 section 71115 (91 FR 46562, published July 23, 2026), closed at 11:59 p.m. Eastern on September 21, 2026.

California signs AB 1307

The Governor approved AB 1307 (Ávila Farías) on September 20, 2026 and the Secretary of State chaptered it the same day as Chapter 363, Statutes of 2026.

Open Door Community Health Centers stops starting hormone therapy and puberty blockers for patients under 19, citing HHS's revised grant-termination terms

Event: Sep 10

In a September 10, 2026 letter, Open Door Community Health Centers CEO Tory Starr said the Humboldt and Del Norte County health center will no longer initiate hormone therapy or prescribe puberty blockers for patients under 19…

Twenty-one states, Pennsylvania's governor and D.C. Sue to stop the new public charge rule four days before it takes effect, citing lost revenue at community health centers

Event: Sep 14

On September 14, 2026, 21 states, Pennsylvania's governor and the District of Columbia sued the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in federal court in Manhattan (New York v. DHS, No. 1:26-cv-07978)…

Texas's Medicaid application backlog grew from about 1,600 in January to more than 210,000 in August, and on-time processing fell from over 90% to 62%

Event: Sep 1

Texas Health and Human Services Commission data released by Texans Care for Children show the state went from processing more than 90% of Medicaid applications within the federal 45-day standard to 62% by late August, KERA reported September 1, 2026.

Texas HHSC's required 3% budget-reduction list proposes eliminating Healthy Texas Women navigator and cost-reimbursement funding

Event: Sep 4

After a July 14, 2026 directive from the governor, lieutenant governor and House speaker, every Texas agency filed a schedule of 3% reductions with its 2028-29 Legislative Appropriations Request.

California's share of HRSA's New Access Points round: 27 organizations and more than $17 million, with at least 16 look-alikes receiving new awards

Event: Aug 13

At an August 13, 2026 announcement at Castle Family Health Centers in Atwater, HRSA Administrator Thomas Engels said 27 California clinic organizations are collectively receiving more than $17 million in New Access Point grants, the largest total of any state…

Contra Costa Health projects a $730 million five-year deficit, with its county hospital and 11-clinic network hit hardest

Event: Aug 25

Contra Costa Health told the Board of Supervisors on August 25, 2026 that budget-balancing initiatives it has identified reduce its FY2026-27 deficit from $80 million to $10 million…

Health centers ended 2025 with a $620 million operating margin, up from a loss of more than $1 billion, GW researchers call 2026 and 2027 high-risk

Event: Aug 24

A Geiger Gibson Program brief from George Washington University, published August 24, 2026 and based on HRSA's 2025 Uniform Data System, found that health center grantees served 32.7 million patients in 2025 and posted a $620 million operating margin (+1.1%)…

Health Net is ending its Medi-Cal assisted living benefit for about 3,500 members at year-end, and two partner plans intend to follow

Event: Aug 17

Health Net is canceling its assisted living benefit at the end of 2026 for approximately 3,500 Medi-Cal members, most of them elderly and many with dementia, CalMatters reported on August 17, 2026; CalViva Health and Community Health Plan of Imperial Valley…

Lone Star Family Health Center reports a data breach affecting 250,130 Texans and points patients to the Aesto Health vendor incident notice

Event: Aug 14

Lone Star Community Health Center in Conroe, which operates as Lone Star Family Health Center, reported a data breach to the Texas Attorney General affecting 250,130 Texans and 257,102 people in total…

CMS has not approved about $9.8 billion in Texas Medicaid directed payments for the fiscal year that began September 1, most of it hospital CHIRP funding

Event: Aug 31

The Texas Tribune reported August 31, 2026 that federal officials are withholding approval of about $9.8 billion in Texas Medicaid supplemental payments for the fiscal year that began September 1…

A watchdog group asks the IRS to investigate AltaMed's spending on its CEO and his family

Event: Aug 20

Campaign for Accountability (CfA), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit watchdog, said on August 20, 2026 that it had filed a complaint asking the Internal Revenue Service to investigate whether AltaMed Health Services Corporation violated federal rules on…

CHCF evaluation: its CHW initiative trained or hired 350 workers across 28 organizations, but Medi-Cal payment alone rarely sustains the work

Event: Aug 7

The California Health Care Foundation published an evaluation by Bright Research Group on August 7, 2026 of its Amplifying Impact Initiative, launched in 2024 with support from the Cedars-Sinai Foundation to scale community health worker, promotor…

HRSA's FY24 340B audit results list repayment sanctions for three California clinics, including SAC Health System, whose corrective action status is still pending

Event: Aug 28

HRSA's FY24 340B audit results page, updated August 28, 2026, lists repayment to manufacturers as the sanction for three California clinics.

NACHC opens a members-only Workforce Pathways repository of 150+ health center and PCA workforce programs

Event: Aug 4

NACHC published its Workforce Pathways Promising Practices Repository and Community on August 4, 2026: a searchable library of more than 150 workforce programs collected and analyzed, with 48 states and regions engaged…

Open Door moved Ferndale's primary care to Fortuna on August 17 and plans a senior-focused model for the Ferndale site

Event: Jul 16

Open Door Community Health Centers announced on July 16, 2026 that primary care at Ferndale Community Health Center would move to Fortuna Community Health Center starting August 17, 2026.

Shasta County Public Health cuts another $2 million and will scale back services, with some programs moving to community partners

Event: Jul 24

Shasta County's Health and Human Services Agency confirmed in July 2026 an additional $2 million cut to Public Health, on top of a June budget that had already set Public Health at $25 million, $2 million below the prior year…

East Texas Community Clinic moves from look-alike to Section 330 grantee with a $650,000 New Access Point award

Event: Aug 26

East Texas Community Clinic Inc., a Health Center Program look-alike since May 2023 with clinics in Gun Barrel City and Athens, announced on August 26, 2026 that it has achieved full Federally Qualified Health Center status.

Frontera Healthcare Network takes over a Methodist primary care and walk-in clinic in Fredericksburg, where three clinicians stay on

Event: Aug 6

The Fredericksburg Standard reported August 6, 2026 that Frontera Healthcare Network would assume operation of the Primary Care and Walk-in Care Clinic run by Methodist Physicians Hill Country Medical Group, effective September 1.

Odessa's MCH Family Health Clinics, a look-alike since 2008, win a $650,000 Section 330 New Access Point award

Event: Aug 27

KOSA reported August 27, 2026 that Medical Center Health System received a $650,000 HRSA New Access Point grant that designates all four MCH Family Health Clinics in Odessa as federally qualified health centers: two family health clinics, a kids clinic…

Lone Star Family Health Center opens its sixth location, in Magnolia, with primary medical and dental care

Event: Jul 21

Lone Star Family Health Center, a Conroe-based federally qualified health center and nonprofit founded in 2002, has opened a sixth location in Magnolia at 18230 FM 1488, Suite 203, offering primary medical and dental care to patients of all ages…

Johnson & Johnson requires claims data on every 340B dispense and extends its contract-pharmacy policy to grantees on November 3

Healthcare Dive reported on September 14, 2026 that Johnson & Johnson began requiring 340B providers to submit claims data for each of its drugs dispensed or administered in order to keep receiving upfront 340B discounts, effective September 15, 2026.

DHCS's draft PPS guidance RESTRICTS outreach allowability

Correction and resolution (2026-09-12): we previously reported that the direction of this guidance was unknown. It is known, and it RESTRICTS. We obtained the notice and its attached draft from DHCS's own server and read them.

Homeless Health Care Los Angeles files WARN notices for 134 layoffs

Event: Sep 2

Homeless Health Care Los Angeles filed California WARN notices on September 2, 2026, for 134 permanent layoffs effective November 3. HHCLA is not a health center.

SAC Health lays off 49 and closes two San Bernardino clinics

SAC Health laid off 49 nonclinical workers effective September 3, 2026, to reduce a $10 million operating gap, the San Bernardino Sun reported.

Corrected Sep 30, 2026: Now sourced to the San Bernardino Sun of September 4, 2026. SAC Health runs 10 clinics, and the headline no longer calls it the Inland Empire’s largest health center.

A final rule takes effect October 13 barring federal Medicaid and CHIP payment for a service line more than a dozen tracked health centers advertise

Event: Aug 13

CMS-2451-F (RIN 0938-AV73) published August 13, 2026 at 91 FR 52406-52474 and is effective october 13, 2026. It adds a new subpart N to 42 CFR part 441 and a new Sec. 457.476, and it was signed by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services.

A vendor that archives the EHR you decommissioned was breached

Event: Aug 21

Aesto Health migrates and archives patient data when a health center replaces its EHR.

The stopgap signed September 2 sets a December 11 funding deadline, 20 days before the Community Health Center Fund expires

On Wednesday, September 2, 2026, the President signed H.R. 6500, the “Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027,” a short-term continuing resolution providing fiscal year 2027 appropriations to federal agencies through December 11, 2026.

OCR's 55th HIPAA access action adds a current records-request workflow warning

HHS OCR announced a $50,000 settlement and two-year corrective-action plan with Azul Vision after investigating a January 2023 medical-record request that was not fulfilled until January 2025.

Alabama's first $144M-plus rural-health grant round names PCA and FQHC recipients

Alabama announced 138 initial Rural Health Transformation grants totaling more than $144 million.

Maryland rural-health awards name Choptank, Greater Baden, Mountain Laurel, and West Cecil

Event: Aug 10

Maryland's first Rural Health Transformation award round names four FQHCs in official award-offer documents: Choptank Community Health System ($1,976,042), Greater Baden Medical Services ($1,448,100), Mountain Laurel Medical Center ($1,058,750)…

MetroHealth reports full FQHC status and a $650K New Access Point award

Event: Aug 14

MetroHealth says MetroHealth Community Health Centers moved from Look-Alike to full FQHC status and received a $650,000 FY2026 New Access Points award.

CMS announces $3.15M to connect pharmacies and FQHCs across Ohio's 73 rural counties

CMS announced $3.15 million in Ohio Rural Health Transformation funding for pharmacy connectivity.

Alaska announces $160M across 142 rural-health projects

CMS announced $160 million for 142 Alaska Rural Health Transformation projects.

HRSA medical-school grants are due September 1; FQHCs may be rotation partners but cannot apply

Event: Jun 11

HRSA-27-098 expects $13 million for eight Medical Student Education awards of $1 million to $1.625 million, with a 1% match.

Palau posts federally funded mobile-clinic driver and boat-operator procurement

Event: Aug 21

Palau's Bureau of Human Resources posted a 15-day notice for licensed or experienced boat operators and a licensed driver/operator to support the Ministry of Health and Human Services Office of the Primary Community Health Center.

HHS asks clinicians whether federal vaccine-recommendation categories should change

HHS announced Request for Information HHS-OS-2026-0332 on August 21; the Federal Register notice is document 2026-17250 (91 FR 54724).

Baylor Scott & White and FirstCare Exit Texas Medicaid Managed Care September 1, Claims for the Affected Plans Stop at August 31 Dates of Service

Event: Jul 17

TMHP's provider notice states that effective September 1, 2026, the Baylor Scott & White and FirstCare health plans no longer participate in Texas Medicaid managed care: FirstCare exits CHIP (Lubbock) and STAR (Lubbock and MRSA West)…