FQHC Governance Requirements

Under the Section 330 Program Requirements all FQHC Boards of Directors must have a majority of consumer members. To be considered a consumer, persons must receive the majority of their health care at the FQHC. Non-consumer members should be selected from professional fields such as legal, financial, health care, and social services. Per BPHC restrictions, no more than half of the non-consumer members can earn more than 10% of their income from the health care field, so non-consumer members from this field are restricted.

BPHC specifies that FQHC boards must have between 9 and 25 members, employees and relatives of employees are ineligible, and FQHC bylaws must prescribe specific methods for selecting new Board members. FQHC Boards must carry legal and fiduciary responsibility for clinic operations and grants, must perform periodic strategic planning and evaluate progress toward organizational goals. The Boards of Directors have responsibility to approve Annual Budgets and all federal grant applications, and they must meet at least monthly and keep Board meeting minutes. They must have full authority over all aspects of clinic operations, and no other entity/individual can have the ability to override or veto governing board decisions.