Association of Federal COVID-19 Funding Distributions With Workforce and Capacity in Health Centers

Abstract

Using novel national data, we examined the association between 2020 federal COVID-related funding targeted to health centers (i.e., H8 funding) and health center workforce and operational capacity measures that may be important for preserving patient access to care and staff safety. We assigned health centers to quartiles based on federal funding distribution per patient and used adjusted linear probability models to estimate differences in workforce and operational capacity outcomes across quartiles from April 2020 to June 2022. We found a nearly 6-fold difference in 2020 H8 funding per patient when comparing health centers in the lowest versus highest quartiles. Despite this difference, health centers’ outcomes improved similarly across quartiles over time, with the lowest-funded health centers having the greatest staffing and service capacity challenges. Our findings suggest that COVID-related health center funding may have contributed to stabilization of health centers’ workforce and operations. Amid concerns about staff turnover, sustained investments targeted to supporting workforce retention at health centers can help to ensure ongoing delivery of critical services.