Data Note: Community Health Centers’ Pandemic Experiences by State Medicaid Expansion Status: Reported Differences in COVID-19 Vaccination Rates and Weekly Visit Declines.


July 16, 2021

Data Note Placeholder Image

A new data note presents an analysis of grantee-level data from HRSA’s COVID-19 survey for the period April 2020 to the end of May 2021, to explore how rates of weekly visits and COVID-19 immunizations varied by state and by Medicaid expansion status.

As the nation begins to recover while addressing the uncertainties of the pandemic, the analysis suggests that health centers in non-expansion states, with fewer Medicaid-enrolled patients and fewer visits, may face a more difficult financial recovery. The pandemic’s disproportionate impact on low-income households, combined with community health centers’ essential role in serving low-income communities, underscores the importance of providing adequate funding to facilitate an equitable and robust COVID-19 response.

The data note was authored by Rebecca Morris, Finn Dobkin, Jessica Sharac, Feygele Jacobs, Peter Shin.

Download the Data Note