Rural health care clinics scrape by or close as the federal funding freeze ripples through community health sector

Bermuda Medical Center, Va., closed over access to funds.
(Photo by Adrienne Hoar McGibbon, Va. Public Media)

With federal funding suddenly unavailable, some rural medical clinics have turned to rescue dollars from private donors, cut services or closed their doors, report Shannon Pettypiece and Bracey Harris of NBC News. "Across the country, health clinics and nonprofit organizations largely serving rural and low-income patients have found themselves unable to access previously allocated federal funds, as a short-lived government funding freeze has continued to disrupt daily operations."

Early last week, the Office of Management and Budget instructed all "federal agencies to temporarily 'pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance' that could conflict with President Donald Trump’s agenda," Pettypiece and Harris explain. "A judge blocked the funding freeze, but organizations say they are still unable to access the money they urgently need to pay for salaries, utilities, supplies and other expenses."

The freeze and continued confusion have left health clinics and nonprofits that rely on federal funds in a lurch. The financial ripple directly impacts rural American's access to health care. They write, "Community Health Centers serve as the primary care home for nearly 10 million rural patients (1 in 5 rural residents). . . . Three Virginia health clinics have shut their doors. And a network of health centers in rural Mississippi is facing a deficit of $500,000 and may have to scale back services."

A spokesperson for HHS "acknowledged that some grant recipients have experienced issues accessing their federal funds and attributed the delays to technical issues the agency’s website has been having," NBC News reports. "HHS is working to 'help expedite resolutions as quickly as possible,' the spokesperson said in a statement."