Dive Brief:
- The Department of Health and Human Services announced on Friday where it will be allotting $295 million being awarded to 1,195 health centers across the country. The funding was created in the Affordable Care Act with the goal of expanding primary care services to millions more Americans.
- The funds are meant for hiring staff, extending clinic hours and providing services beyond what they normally would, including oral, mental and behavioral health and pharmacy and vision services. According to HHS, the fund should allow for the hiring of more than 4,700 new full-time employees and the increase of patient volume by 1.5 million a year.
- In 2013, the nation's health centers treated more than 21 million patients, or one in every 15 people. Many of these individuals are receiving primary care services for the first time through the centers. In a press release on the topic, HHS also noted that health centers helped more than 6 million people enroll in the health insurance marketplace.
Dive Insight:
States have been crunching numbers to understand how the funds will be dispersed over the next year. In Kansas and Missouri, $9.6 million will be spread between 41 different health centers. 25 health clinics in medically-underserved communities in Washington will receive nearly $7.5 million. In Georgia, 30 health centers will share $6.9 million.
This is just one more way the Affordable Care Act is attempting to bolster the nation's community health centers. A study by the Milken Institute found that in states that expanded Medicaid, health centers could gain more than $2 billion in revenue in 2014. In contrast, in states that did not expand, these providers may expect to lose out on $569 million in 2014.