Austin's Sliding-Scale Clinics: Who Qualifies, What You Pay

There is a tier of Austin clinics where the price of a visit is set by your income rather than by a menu, and the rule behind it is federal. A health center that takes Health Center Program funding is required by statute to run a schedule of discounts adjusted to the patient’s ability to pay, and to assure that no patient is turned away over inability to pay. Austin has three of them, plus a volunteer-run free clinic and a county program that functions as coverage without being insurance. None of this is a favor anyone is doing you. It is the deal Congress attached to the money.

The statute governing federally funded health centers, 42 U.S.C. § 254b(k)(3)(G), requires each center to prepare a fee schedule and “a corresponding schedule of discounts to be applied to the payment of such fees or payments, which discounts are adjusted on the basis of the patient’s ability to pay.” The same subsection requires the center to assure that no patient will be denied health care services due to an individual’s inability to pay, and that fees “will be reduced or waived” to make that assurance real.

HRSA’s Health Center Program Compliance Manual turns the statute into a specific structure. A full discount applies at or below 100% of the federal poverty guidelines — a center may instead set a nominal charge, which must be less than the fee in the first pay class above 100%. Between 100% and 200%, partial discounts apply across at least three discount pay classes. Above 200%, no discount is required. That is why 200% of the poverty level is the number that keeps appearing below.

HHS publishes the poverty guidelines every January and every sliding scale in the country is indexed to them. The 2026 guidelines took effect January 13, 2026 for the 48 contiguous states and DC:

• Household of 1 — $15,960 (200% = $31,920)
• Household of 2 — $21,640 (200% = $43,280)
• Household of 3 — $27,320 (200% = $54,640)
• Household of 4 — $33,000 (200% = $66,000)
• Add $5,680 for each additional person

Three FQHC organizations serve the Austin area. A pattern holds across all three: none of them publishes a flat dollar price for a visit. The discount is determined at an eligibility screening, which is also why the document list matters more than the price list.

CommUnityCare Health Centers

CommUnityCare describes itself as one of the largest FQHC systems in Texas. Uninsured patients meet with an eligibility or financial screening specialist, who sets a lower rate based on income and family size. Its published screening checklist asks for photo ID, birth certificate, Social Security card, income verification, address verification, and proof of any active insurance. Intake runs through 512-978-8130, option 1, with separate application paths for Travis County residents and people living outside the county.

People’s Community Clinic

People’s Community Clinic states it was designated an FQHC by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, accepts patients with or without insurance, and says it never turns away a patient who is unable to pay. New patients start by phone at 512-478-4939, then meet a financial counselor who determines sliding-scale eligibility. The clinic publishes the list of what to bring: a photo ID with your name on it, a medical insurance card if you have one, proof of address so the clinic knows which county you live in, and — for the sliding-scale program specifically — one recent pay stub or other proof of income from the last 30 days.

Lone Star Circle of Care

Lone Star Circle of Care is the only one of the three that publishes its actual sliding-fee tiers: 0–100% of the poverty level, 101–133%, 134–150%, and 151–200%, with full charges above 200%. It states that no patient is ever denied services based on an inability to pay, and — unusually — that you do not have to be a resident of any specific city, county, or area to be seen. Intake is 1-877-800-5722.

Volunteer Healthcare Clinic is an independent 501(c)(3) rather than an FQHC, and it fills a specific gap: uninsured Travis County residents at or below 200% of the federal poverty level who have no other coverage — not MAP, not Medicaid or CHIP, not Medicare. Its site asks patients to bring two things, a valid photo ID and proof of a current Travis County address. There is no mandatory fee; the clinic says a $10 donation is appreciated to support its services. Registration happens in advance, Monday through Friday, 10am to 4pm, at 512-459-6002.

Travis County residents have a fifth option that isn’t a clinic at all. The Medical Access Program, administered by Central Health, the county hospital district, covers uninsured residents with household income at or below 200% of the poverty level — roughly $2,660 a month for a single person and $5,500 a month for a family of four on the FY2026 threshold, which Central Health updates each March 1. MAP is not insurance; it is a county program that gets you into a network of participating providers at little or no cost.

1. Apply online at ola.veritysource.com/austin
2. Or call 512-978-8130, option 1, Monday–Friday 8am–5pm — interpreters are available
3. Or mail an application to PO Box 300489, Austin, TX 78703

HRSA runs the official nationwide locator for federally funded health centers at findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov. It is the authoritative list, it is free, and we are not trying to replace it — enter an address and it returns the centers near you, which is a better answer than any static page can give as clinics open and close. Use it to check whether a center exists closer to you than the three above, especially outside Travis County.