Community Health Centers Have Experienced
Increased Demand for Social Services During the Pandemic and Have Added
Capacity for Mental Health
Community health centers
have seen a rise in patients seeking non-medical services such as
housing, food, nutrition, and transportation during the pandemic and have
added new mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) services in
response to growing needs, according to a new KFF
survey.
Over half of the health centers that responded to the survey said that,
amid the economic disruption of the pandemic, more patients are seeking
social and supportive services that complement primary care. A majority
of centers reported providing on-site health literacy (71%) and
transportation services (63%), while at least 4 in 10 report providing
SNAP, WIC, or other nutritional services (44%) and healthy food options,
such as an on-site food pantry or meal delivery (42%).
Nearly two-thirds of health centers said they added new in-person or
virtual mental health services, including individual and group therapy
services. And roughly half of health centers (48%) saw an increase in
patients with opioid use disorder during the pandemic, with a rising
share of health centers providing medication-assisted treatment services.
These services were added at a time when health centers were also rolling
out vaccination campaigns and other pandemic-related services in
underserved communities.
The survey of community health centers, conducted in late 2021, probed
the pandemic’s effect on services, the challenges health centers face and
their preparedness for the unwinding of the public health emergency
declaration.
Other key survey
findings include:
- While
health centers ramped up telehealth services during the pandemic,
nearly all cited patients’ lack of internet access (97%) and lack of
comfort using telehealth technology (93%) as major or minor
challenges.
- Eighty-five
percent of responding health centers cited staffing shortages as a
challenge in providing social and supportive services. The vast
majority also cited staffing issues as a barrier to providing mental
health and substance use disorder services.
- Eighty-one
percent of responding health centers reported that it was very or
somewhat difficult to schedule a specialist appointment for
uninsured patients. Sixty-three percent reported difficulties
scheduling such appointments for Medicaid fee-for-service patients,
and 58 percent reported difficulties for Medicaid managed care
patients.
In a separate
policy watch, KFF analysts explain what steps community health
centers are taking to prepare for the end of the federal public health
emergency, during which states have been required to provide continuous
coverage for Medicaid enrollees in order to receive enhanced federal
funding during the pandemic. As of late 2021, roughly two-thirds of
health centers were planning or taking actions to help their patients
retain coverage, including reaching out to patients directly, increasing
staff time on enrollment activities, and coordinating with legal services
organizations.
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