Access Endangered: Profiles of the Medically Disenfranchised
National Association of Community Health Centers, 2011
As the nation struggles to recover from one of the worsteconomic crises since the Great Depression, Congressional and state lawmakers are debating budget cuts and programmatic changes that could have profound and far-reaching effects on the health of people and communities. In this diffcult climate, the Community Health Centers program could fnd itself among the safety net programs facing funding cuts, even as more Americans – including the millions of recently jobless and uninsured – turn to them for care.
Community Health Centers operate in more than 8,000 locations and serve more than 20 million patients. They provide one-quarter of all primary care visits for the nation’s low-income population, thereby making up a substantial share of the nation’s primary care infrastructure. In disproportionately serving Medicaid, uninsured, and other high-risk patients compared to other providers, health centers present a unique and comprehensive approach to health care that has been repeatedly found to propel system-wide cost savings and improve patient health. Over the past 10 years, health centers have doubled the number of patients served and extended their reach into twice as many underserved communities. With their expansion came improved access to care and patient outcomes, as well as jobs and resources or impoverished communities and health system efficiencies.
