Policy & Regulation News

HHS awards $295M in funding for better primary care access

By Elizabeth Snell

- Last week, $295 million in Affordable Care Act funding was awarded to 1,195 health centers in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and the Pacific Basin to expand primary care services.

The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell said in a statement that the money will help health centers increase access to comprehensive primary health care services by hiring an estimated 4,750 new staff, including new health care providers. Additionally, the funds will help organizations stay open longer and expand care to include new services such as oral health, behavioral health, pharmacy and vision services.

“Health centers are a key part of how the Affordable Care Act is working to improve access to care for millions of Americans,” Secretary Burwell said. “These funds will enable health centers to provide high-quality primary health care to more people including the newly insured, many of whom may be accessing primary care for the first time.”

These investments from HHS will assist health centers in reaching approximately 1.5 million new patients nationwide, HHS explained. This includes over 137,000 oral health patients and more than 38,000 mental and substance abuse patients.

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  • These most recent rewards add to efforts of approximately 1,300 health centers across the nation that operate more than 9,200 service delivery sites, providing care to over 21.7 million patients.

    Just last month HHS distributed $35.7 million in ACA funding in 44 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico to support the development of patient-centered medical homes via the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

    “Health centers provide comprehensive primary and preventive services in their communities” HRSA Administrator Mary K. Wakefield, PhD, RN, added. “Today’s awards will be used to expand access to care, to the people that need it most.” Today, nearly 1,300 health centers operate more than 9,200 service delivery sites that provide care to over 21.7 million patients. Since the start of this Administration, health centers have increased the number of patients served by health centers by more than 4.5 million people.

    Those awards were expected to support 21 new construction projects and 126 alteration and renovation projects at health centers across the United States, Wakefield said in a public statement. Those construction projects are designed to improve health center’s designs and expand existing structures to better support team-based care, Wakefield added.