FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Talbot Eckweiler
Oregon Primary Care Association
Info@orpca.org

Oregon’s Community Health Centers Cared for 500,000+ Patients

New data from the Oregon Primary Care Association shows Federally Qualified Health Centers provide comprehensive care to more than half a million patients statewide.

PORTLAND, Ore. – 2/5/26 – Oregon’s 33 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) provided 1.9 million patient visits in 2024 and served 503,235 patients across 332 clinical sites statewide, according to newly released data from the Oregon Primary Care Association.

The data demonstrates that FQHCs serve 1 in 10 Oregonians and 1 in 5 Oregon Health Plan members, with 87% of patients living below 200% of the federal poverty level. The health centers created 7,270 jobs across communities throughout Oregon.

FQHCs provided comprehensive services including:

• 156,782 patients received oral health care
• 60,265 patients received behavioral health services
• 77,719 patients with hypertension received care
• 48,992 patients with diabetes received care
• 21,832 patients with coronary artery disease received care
• 21,931 patients with asthma received care

Oregon’s FQHCs accept patients regardless of insurance type, though a majority of their patients rely on Medicaid and Medicare. Sixty two percent of Oregon FQHC patients have Medicaid coverage, 16% have private insurance, 13% have Medicare, and 9% are uninsured.

“These numbers reflect the essential role community health centers play in Oregon’s healthcare system,” said Talbot Eckweiler, Director of Public Affairs and Sustainability. “FQHCs provide accessible, high-quality care to communities that face significant barriers to healthcare access.”

“HRSA’s UDS provides us critical baseline data, but we refine these numbers to ensure we’re accurately representing the care delivered in Oregon,” said Eckweiler. “For multi-state health centers, we recapture patients served at their Oregon locations, giving us a more precise picture of the health centers’ impact on Oregon communities.”

The Uniform Data System (UDS) is an annual reporting requirement for the health centers which receive funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The data collection process ensures that policy makers, legislators, and the public have standardized information about health center patients, services, staffing, clinical quality, costs, and revenues.

FQHCs operate under a unique model that includes a patient-majority governing board, a sliding fee scale for patients based on income levels, and comprehensive services that address medical, dental, behavioral health, and social needs. The centers are located in both urban and rural communities across Oregon.

About the Oregon Primary Care Association

The Oregon Primary Care Association (OPCA) is the unified voice of Oregon’s Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), including Look-Alikes, who deliver integrated medical, dental, and behavioral health services to 500,000+ Oregonians at 330+ locations statewide.

OPCA’s core values are centered on building and supporting a statewide network of accessible primary, dental, and behavioral health care services for Oregonians in the communities where they live and work. OPCA’s strategies start with the recognition that every community is unique, but the barriers to health they face are often repeated across the state and require coordinated transformation efforts.

For more information, visit www.orpca.org.

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