IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v21y2024i7p853-d1425777.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Funding Health Care for People Experiencing Homelessness: An Examination of Federally Qualified Health Centers’ Funding Streams and Homeless Patients Served (2014–2019)

Author

Listed:
  • Marcus M. Lam

    (School of Leadership and Education Sciences, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA 92110, USA)

  • Nathan J. Grasse

    (School of Public Policy and Administration, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada)

Abstract

It is estimated that three million people annually experience homelessness, with about a third of the homeless population being served by Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). Thus, FQHCs, dependent on government funding for financial viability, are vital to the infrastructure addressing the complex issues facing people experiencing homelessness. This study examines the relationship between various government funding streams and the number of homeless patients served by FQHCs. Data for this study come from three publicly available databases: the Uniform Data System (UDS), the IRS Core files, and the Area Resource File. Fixed-effects models employed examine changes across six years from 2014 to 2019. The results suggest that, on average, an additional homeless patient served increases the expenses of FQHCs more than other patients and that federal funding, specifically Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) funding, is a vital revenue source for FQHCs. We found that the number of homeless patients served is negatively associated with contemporaneous state and local funding but positively associated with substance use and anxiety disorders. Our findings have important implications for the effective management of FQHCs in the long term and for broader public policy supporting these vital elements of the social safety net.

Suggested Citation

  • Marcus M. Lam & Nathan J. Grasse, 2024. "Funding Health Care for People Experiencing Homelessness: An Examination of Federally Qualified Health Centers’ Funding Streams and Homeless Patients Served (2014–2019)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(7), pages 1-17, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:7:p:853-:d:1425777
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/7/853/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/7/853/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Aykanian, Amanda, 2018. "Service and policy considerations when working with highly mobile homeless youth: Perspectives from the frontlines," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 9-16.
    2. Lianne A. Urada & Melanie J. Nicholls & Stephen R. Faille, 2022. "Homelessness at the San Diego Central Library: Assessing the Potential Role of Social Workers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-20, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Daniela Lemmo & Maria Luisa Martino & Anna Rosa Donizzetti & Maria Francesca Freda & Daniela Caso, 2022. "The Relationship between Healthcare Providers and Preventive Practices: Narratives on Access to Cancer Screening," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-18, September.
    2. Gurdak, Kristen & Bond, Lynden & Padgett, Deborah & Petering, Robin, 2022. "Transitioning to independent living: Experiences of homeless young adults in rapid rehousing," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    3. Gallardo, Kathryn R. & Santa Maria, Diane & Narendorf, Sarah & Markham, Christine M. & Swartz, Michael D. & Batiste, Charles M., 2020. "Access to healthcare among youth experiencing homelessness: Perspectives from healthcare and social service providers," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:7:p:853-:d:1425777. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.