Cardiovascular equity and health center funding: Associations of unmet hypertension and diabetes need by race/ethnicity and federal grants at federally qualified health centers, 2014–2019

TL;DR

This study finds that higher rates of uncontrolled hypertension and diabetes in health centers don't lead to more federal funding, except for American Indian and Alaskan Native populations.

Contribution

The study identifies a novel association between clinical need among AI-AN patients and increased federal funding for FQHCs.

Findings

Higher overall rates of uncontrolled hypertension or diabetes in FQHCs were not linked to increased federal funding.

Increased clinical need among American Indian or Alaskan Native patients was associated with higher federal grant funding.

Most racial and ethnic groups showed no significant link between disease prevalence and funding levels.

Abstract

Racial and ethnic disparities in chronic disease are a major public health priority.

To determine if the amount of federal grant funding to federally-qualified health centers (FQHCs) was associated with baseline overall prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension and uncontrolled diabetes, as well as prevalence by racial and ethnic subgroup.

Cross-sectional multivariate regression analysis of Uniform Data System 2014–2019, which includes clinic-level data from each FQHC regarding demographics, chronic disease control by race and ethnicity, and grant funding.

Our main exposure were the average values of the prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension and uncontrolled diabetes among the overall population and by racial and ethnic group from 2014–2016.

Average federal grant funding per patient from 2017–2019, as measured by annual health center funding from the Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) and overall federal grant funding.

We analyzed 1,205 FQHCs from 2014–2019; the average BPHC grant per patient across all FQHCs in 2019 was $168 while the average total federal grant was $184 per patient. Increasing shares of total patients with uncontrolled hypertension or uncontrolled diabetes were not associated with increased total federal grant funding in either unadjusted or adjusted analysis. Increased shares of patients who are American Indian or Alaskan Native (AI-AN) with uncontrolled hypertension and diabetes were associated with increasing total federal grant funding in both unadjusted and adjusted analysis (adjusted beta hypertension $168.3, p <0.001; adjusted beta diabetes 59.44, p = 0.02). However, cardiovascular clinical need among other racial and ethnic groups was not significantly associated with grant funding.

FQHCs with higher overall rates of uncontrolled hypertension or diabetes do not receive more federal funds, and there is no significant association between federal funding levels and rates of uncontrolled blood pressure or diabetes within most racial and ethnic groups, with the exception of AI-AN populations. To narrow inequities in cardiovascular disease, HRSA should consider more explicitly targeting federal grants to clinics with higher levels of clinical need.

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