Primary Care Providers Benefit from Large ACA Donations

The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has allocated $500 million in Affordable Care Act (ACA) funding to aid health centers and increase primary care services, according to a recent press release. The goal of this funding matches the goals of the ACA -- to increase quality of care for all citizens, regardless of ability to pay.

A majority of the money, nearly $350 million, will go toward the expansion of services to awardees, including medical, oral, behavioral, pharmaceutical, and vision care services. The remaining $150 million will go toward building renovations and expansion to allow for greater patient and service capacity.

HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell hopes that this funding will help expand the scope of care provided through the ACA.

“With these awards, health centers will be able to do things like increase their hours of operation, hire more behavioral health providers, add dental facilities, better treat patients with opioid use disorders, and help people get coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace and make the journey from coverage to primary care,” said Secretary Burwell.

This is not the first time HHS has allocated ACA funding for healthcare centers. RevCycleIntelligence.com reported recently that HHS granted $169 million to community health centers in an effort to increase quality of care for ACA beneficiaries. These grants were also intended to increase the presence of healthcare facilities in rural areas where providers tend to be few and far between.

The expansion of primary care services to underserved areas goes a long way in cutting overall healthcare spending. Primary care and preventative care help reduce hospitalizations and emergency department visits, and also emphasize positive health habits in patients such as medication adherence via strong patient engagement.

Blue Shield California gives $4.4 million to health services

Earlier this week, Blue Shield of California also announced donations to healthcare providers. The organization donated a total of $4.4 million to health and domestic violence services to underserved areas of California. Blue Shield’s goal is for this money to foster collaborations between both government and private healthcare services to provide care to vulnerable and high-need parts of the state.

Blue Shield aims to utilize Accountable Communities for Health (ACHs) throughout California to achieve this goal. ACHs are “designed as an alliance of healthcare providers, public health agencies, community-based organizations and social service providers whose goal is to collectively improve patient outcomes, while also reducing health disparities and costs.”

In California, the initiative aims to establish six ACHs across the state, and Blue Shield hopes its donation can contribute to that growth.

“This emerging concept, known as ‘Accountable Communities for Health,’ has the potential to transform health in California,” said Peter Long, PhD, CEO and President of Blue Shield of California. “This initiative will harness the resources, talents, and priorities of public and private stakeholders to improve health outcomes at the population level.”