Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Thursday released $81.7 million in non-stimulus package funding to help expand community health center services.
The grants are funded through the Health Center Program, which provided care to more than 17 million people last year. They will be added to the $2 billion already provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
The new grants include $25.6 million to expand medical capacity at 54 health centers, helping an additional 230,000 individuals in 25 states receive primary health care services. The remaining $56.1 million will supplement all health centers' base grant awards to offset rising costs associated with maintaining current service levels.
According to officials, the funding is critical in helping to provide healthcare to an increasing population of uninsured.
Sebelius made the announcement as she marked the first 100 days of the ARRA. During a press call, she emphasized that President Barack Obama has made healthcare his top domestic priority.
"The economic downturn is hurting all of us and when workers lose their jobs, they often lose their health insurance, too," Sebelius said. "Community health centers provide essential care for families across the country that do not have insurance or cannot afford the high cost of care. The recovery act grants and the funding we have released are key investments that will help deliver care to millions of Americans."
According to Health Resources and Services Administration Administrator Mary Wakefield, who is responsible for overseeing the health center program, in a typical year about 40 percent of health center patients have no insurance.
Community health center directors are reporting that the new funding can't come too soon, Wakefield said.
ARRA provides $2 billion in grants to health centers over a two-year period. HHS has already awarded approximately $155 million in ARRA grant funds to support 126 community health centers across the country and will provide access to health center care for 750,000 people in 39 states and two territories.
HHS has also awarded $338 million in Increased Demand for Services grants for health centers, which will use those funds provide care to more than 2 million additional patients over the next two years, including approximately 1 million uninsured people. In addition, over the next two years, health centers will use the funds to create and retain approximately 6,500 health center jobs.
Kim Patton, CEO of HealthSource of Ohio, a community health center in southwest Ohio, said the funding will not only provide critical access to care, but help to provide much-needed employment in the area. HealthSource is the second largest employer in the region, she said.