The city of Ferris, Texas is using its allocation of American Rescue Plan Act funding to offer basic health coverage and a mobile health clinic to all 3,500 of its residents, according to NBCDFW.
The Ferris City Council voted May 16 to create a program called "Access for All," which will use full-time and contract physicians, nurses and paramedics to provide basic telemedicine and virtual visits through a mobile app for every resident, according to FOX4.
The city will pay Dallas-based MD Health Pathways about $55 per citizen per year to provide the new service.
"It really came to light during COVID-19 when our folks didn't have access to simple testing and treatment," Ferris City Manager Brooks Williams told NBCDFW. "We have about 40 percent of our population that is uninsured or underinsured, but we wanted a solution that covered everybody."
The service is expected to be up in the next six months. The federal funds will likely last about two years, and the city hopes to secure grants to continue the program after that.