Required and Additional Health Services

In this section:

Primary Reviewer: Clinical Expert

Secondary Reviewer: Fiscal Expert

NOTE: The Fiscal Expert also reviews the contracts/agreements and arrangements to support the Clinical Expert with the assessment of scope of project accuracy for element “a.”

Authority: Section 330(a)-(b), Section 330(h)(2), and Section 330(k)(3)(K) of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act; and 42 CFR 51c.102(h) and (j), 42 CFR 56.102(l) and (o), and 42 CFR 51c.303(l)

Health Center Program Compliance Manual Related Considerations

Documents the Health Center Provides

Compliance Assessment

Select each element below for the corresponding text of the element, site visit team methodology, and site visit finding questions.


Footnotes

1. Health centers may choose to provide samples of patient records before or during the site visit. If patient records will be provided during the site visit, this should be communicated to the site visit team before the site visit to avoid any disruption or delay in the site visit process.

2. In accordance with 45 CFR 75.308 (Uniform Administrative Requirements: Revision of Budget and Program Plans), health centers must request prior approval from HRSA for a change in the scope or the objective of the project or program (even if there is no associated budget revision requiring prior written approval). This prior approval requirement applies, among other things, to the addition or deletion of a service within the scope of project. These changes require prior approval from HRSA and must be submitted by the health center as a formal Change in Scope request. Visit the Scope of Project website for further details, including the Form 5A Service Descriptors (PDF - 315 KB) listed on Form 5A: Services Provided.

3. The Health Center Program statute states in 42 U.S.C. 254b(a)(1) that health centers may provide services “either through the staff and supporting resources of the center or through contracts or cooperative arrangements.” The Health Center Program Compliance Manual uses the terms “Formal Written Contract/Agreement” and “Formal Written Referral Arrangement” to refer to such “contracts or cooperative arrangements.” For more information on documenting service delivery methods within the HRSA-approved scope of project on Form 5A: Services Provided, visit Form 5A Column Descriptors (PDF - 110 KB). Other Health Center Program requirements apply when providing services through contractual agreements and formal referral arrangements. Such requirements are addressed in other chapters of the Manual where applicable.

4. See [Health Center Program Compliance Manual] Chapter 9: Sliding Fee Discount Program for more information on sliding fee discount program requirements and how they apply to the various service delivery methods.

5. For purposes of the HRSA-approved scope of project (Form 5A: Services Provided), HRSA/BPHC utilizes Internal Revenue Service (IRS) definitions to differentiate contractors and employees. Typically, an employee receives a salary on a regular basis and a W-2 from the health center with applicable taxes and benefit contributions withheld.

6. See [Health Center Program Compliance Manual] Chapter 12: Contracts and Subawards for more information on program requirements around contracting.

7. For purposes of the HRSA-approved scope of project (Form 5A: Services Provided), services provided via “contract/formal agreement” are those provided by practitioners who are not employed by or volunteers of the health center (for example, an individual provider with whom the health center has a contract; a group practice with which the health center has a contract; a locum tenens staffing agency with which the health center contracts; a subrecipient organization). Typically, a health center will issue an IRS Form 1099 to report payments to an individual contractor. See the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) Health Center Policy Manual (PDF - 406 KB) for information about eligibility for FTCA coverage for covered activities by covered individuals, which extends liability protections for eligible “covered individuals,” including governing board members and officers, employees, and qualified individual contractors.

8. For purposes of the HRSA-approved scope of project (Form 5A: Services Provided), access to services provided via “formal referral arrangements” are those referred by the health center but provided and billed for by a third party. Although the service itself is not included within the HRSA-approved scope of project, the act of referral and any follow-up care provided by the health center subsequent to the referral are considered to be part of the health center’s HRSA-approved scope of project. For more information on documenting service delivery methods within the HRSA-approved scope of project on Form 5A: Services Provided, visit Form 5A Column Descriptors (PDF - 110 KB).

Date Last Reviewed: