March 2026 Updates to the SVP: Pharmacy Dispending Fees and the Sliding Fee Discount Program

HRSA released an updated version to the Site Visit Protocol on March 16, 2026.  The changes appear limited to clarifying how pharmacy dispensing fees are treated under the Health Center Program.  The updated SVP states that a health center is not required to charge patients a dispensing fee for pharmacy. A dispensing fee is generally considered an administrative or overhead cost and, therefore, is not included on the fee schedule or sliding fee discount schedule. However, if a health center has a fee for a clinical pharmacy service (for example, Medication Therapy Management), the health center applies its sliding fee discount to the fee associated with the clinical pharmacy service.