Family Health Services, a Community Health Center, makes high quality, culturally sensitive, primary medical and dental care, behavioral health and social services affordable and accessible for all the people of South Central Idaho.
A federally qualified health center (FQHC) is a type of provider defined by the Medicare and Medicaid statutes. FQHCs include all organizations receiving grants under Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act, certain tribal organizations, and FQHC Look-Alikes. FQHCs must provide primary care services for all age groups. FQHCs must provide preventive health services on site or by arrangement with another provider. Other requirements that must be provided directly by an FQHC or by arrangement with another provider include: dental services, mental health and substance abuse services, transportation services necessary for adequate patient care, hospital and specialty care.
A sliding fee scale with discounts services based on patient family size and annual income in accordance with federal poverty guidelines. FQHCs must be open to all, regardless of their ability to pay.
The VFC program is a federally funded program that provides vaccines at no cost to children who might not otherwise be vaccinated because of inability to pay. VFC was created by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 as a new entitlement program to be a required part of each states Medicaid plan. The program was officially implemented in October 1994.
Funding for the VFC program is approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and allocated through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CDC buys vaccines at a discount and distributes them to grantees i.e., state health departments and certain local and territorial public health agencies which in turn distribute them at no charge to those private physicians offices and public health clinics registered as VFC providers.