Developing the Community Health Workforce Act of 2026

Key Points

• The bill creates a new grant program to help Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) recruit and keep workers by repaying student loans for health care professionals who serve at these centers. This directly targets the staffing shortages that make it hard for rural and underserved communities to get basic medical care.
• Community health centers would be allowed to register as apprenticeship programs within 180 days. Colleges, community colleges, and minority-serving institutions could also receive grants to partner with health centers and train students in clinical care, IT, operations, and other health professions.
• The bill expands Medicare and Medicaid coverage at FQHCs to include services from behavioral health consultants, peer support specialists, and case managers starting October 1, 2025. This means patients at community health centers could access mental health and care coordination services that were not previously covered.
• Hospitals that run residency training programs at FQHCs would get 3 extra residency slots under Medicare's graduate medical education cap. The bill also gives priority to FQHCs and rural health clinics when assigning members of the National Health Service Corps.
• The bill requires HHS to study how states adjust Medicaid payment rates to FQHCs and to issue annual guidance on best practices. This could help standardize payments and reduce variation that currently leaves some health centers underfunded compared to others.