Service Area Competition | HRSA 21 007

Opportunity Information: Apply for HRSA 21 007

The Service Area Competition (SAC) grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number HRSA 21-007) is a discretionary grant program run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). It sits under the Health Center Program (CFDA 93.224) and is designed to sustain and renew federal support for health centers that serve medically underserved communities and populations across the country. In practical terms, the competition is about maintaining continuity of care in areas already being served under the Health Center Program by selecting organizations that can continue delivering strong primary care services in those defined service areas.

The central goal of the SAC Notice of Funding Opportunity is to ensure continued access to comprehensive, culturally competent, high-quality primary health care for patients in communities that currently rely on Health Center Program-funded services. The focus is on community-based, patient-directed organizations, meaning applicants are expected to be rooted in the communities they serve and structured in a way that reflects patient needs and input. While the announcement does not list specific clinical service lines in the excerpt provided, the phrase "comprehensive primary health care" typically signals a broad set of essential services that address routine medical needs and reduce access barriers for underserved groups, delivered in a manner that is respectful of culture, language, and community context.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of public and nonprofit entities that could reasonably operate a community health center model. Eligible applicants include county and city or township governments, special district governments, independent school districts, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, federally recognized Native American tribal governments, other Native American tribal organizations, public housing authorities (including Indian housing authorities), and nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education). The listing also includes an "Others" category with a note to consult additional eligibility language in the full opportunity for clarification, which usually covers special circumstances or specific organizational arrangements that are allowed.

The funding instrument is a grant, and the activity category is health, with an "Opportunity Zone Benefits" tag included in the activity categorization. The opportunity was created on September 17, 2020, and the original application deadline was November 16, 2020, indicating this was a time-limited competition cycle. HRSA anticipated making about seven awards under this specific announcement. The award ceiling is shown as 0 in the source data, which commonly indicates that a maximum award amount was not specified in that particular data field (or is determined by other factors such as the service area, patient volume, and scope of services), rather than implying that awards would be zero dollars.

Overall, SAC functions as a continuation and re-competition mechanism within the Health Center Program to make sure that communities already receiving health center services do not lose access when project periods end or when HRSA needs to competitively re-award a service area. Applicants are essentially competing to demonstrate they can effectively operate and sustain a community-based primary care organization that meets Health Center Program expectations while delivering accessible, quality care to medically underserved populations in the designated service area.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration in the health, opportunity zone benefits sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Service Area Competition" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.224.
• This funding opportunity was created on Sep 17, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Nov 16, 2020. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 7 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for HRSA 21 007

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