US · guidance
CMS Pub. 100-02, ch. 13, § 20
RHC and FQHC Location Requirements
To be eligible for certification as an RHC, a clinic must be located in 1) a non-urbanized
area, as determined by the U.S. Census Bureau, and 2) an area designated or certified
within the previous 4 years by the Secretary, HHS, in any one of the four types of
shortage area designations that are accepted for RHC certification as listed in section
20.2.
A clinic applying to become a Medicare-certified RHC must meet both the rural and
underserved location requirements. Mobile clinics must have a fixed schedule that
specifies the date and location for services, and each location must meet the location
requirements.
Existing RHCs are not currently required to continue to meet the location requirements.
RHCs that plan to relocate or expand should contact their Regional Office (RO) to
determine their location requirements.
FQHCs may be located in rural or urban areas. FQHCs that are Health Center Program
Grantees or Look-Alikes must be located in or serve people from a HRSA-designated
MUA or MUP.
History
(Rev.239, Issued: 01-09-18, Effective: 1-22-18, Implementation: 1-22-18)
Provenance
- Source
- cms.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-08-25
- Edition
- iom-2026-08-25
- Content hash
a20e651a051a49828f65a5550c59cc09a60e2753f03e0c7c7f840fef50853209
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