Underserved areas of America are getting a big injection of cash from the Obama administration to support 266 new community health centers.
The Department of Health and Human Services announced it will spend $169 million to support centers in 46 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The administration projects the new centers will increase access for 1.2 million people.
The new funding builds upon the $101 million the government awarded to 164 new community centers in May, as well as the 700 such operations set up last year with funds from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The facilities are geared toward providing primary care in areas with few medical services, particularly in poor or rural parts of the country. The government estimates there to be 1,300 community health organizations spread over 9,000 sites that serve 23 million Americans.
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"Across the country, health centers have provided a source of high-quality primary care for people in rural and urban communities for 50 years," HHS Acting Deputy Secretary Mary Wakefield said in a statement. "These Affordable Care Act funds build on the strong legacy of the health center program and provide even more individuals and families with access to the care they need the most."
Jim Macrae, Acting Administrator for the Health Resources and Services Administration, said in the same statement that such centers provide primary care to 1 in 14 Americans.
The Hill reports that the centers provide care but have also played a critical role in boosting health insurance enrollment by signing people up for PPACA coverage over the past year-and-a-half.
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