Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) are a healthcare cornerstone, ensuring women, especially in low-income and rural communities, receive the maternal care they need. Access to timely, high-quality care matters to improving outcomes for moms and babies, and many FQHCs are stepping up to fill this gap, offering critical services like prenatal care, postpartum mental health screenings, and infant wellness visits, regardless of a patient’s ability to pay.
In communities where hospital obstetric units have closed, FQHCs often serve as the only accessible prenatal and postpartum healthcare. This is a hard reality for many moms and community health leaders since the U.S. still bears the burden of the highest maternal mortality rate among high-income peers.
FQHCs: Solutions on the Frontlines of the Maternal Health Crisis
Recognizing the essential role of FQHCs to maternal health and how policymakers could further strengthen this critical care, ACH collaborated with UnitedHealthcare Community & State on this report, “Federally Qualified Health Centers are Central to Addressing the U.S. Maternal Health Crisis.”
FQHCs are meeting the needs of families, especially mothers who may live in counties without access to obstetric care or obstetric providers–areas also known as “maternal health deserts.” In 2022, FQHCs provided care for an estimated 17 percent of women, or 1 in 6, who gave birth.
And as many health center leaders know, there is still work to be done. As essential lifelines to care, what policies can strengthen FQHCs to meet the needs of today and tomorrow? This paper presents actionable policy recommendations—including investments in telehealth, midwifery care, and Medicaid reimbursement—to strengthen these vital services.