By Vivian Nguyen
Today marks a victory for community health.
This morning, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced $150 million in grant awards to health centers across the nation to enroll uninsured Americans in new coverage options under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Community Medical Centers, La Clinica De La Raza and LifeLong Medical Care were 3 of the 1,159 health centers selected to be recipients of award amounts.
Supported by Section 10503 of the ACA, the Health Center Outreach and Enrollment Assistance supplemental funding opportunity will be distributed to qualified health centers in all 50 states. Eligible health centers are those that are currently funded under section 330 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act, which requires health centers to help patients gain access to government programs that provide medical, social and other related services. According to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), award amounts were granted to selected health centers at the same proportional distribution as their existing operational section 330 grant funding.
Such funding comes at an opportune time as health centers across the nation prepare for full implementation of the ACA in 2014. Under healthcare reform, coverage will be expanded to an estimated 32 million currently uninsured Americans through Health Insurance Marketplaces, expanded Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Supplemental funding is intended to increase the outreach, education and enrollment capacity of health centers, which is crucial since preliminary surveys revealed that the majority of newly eligible individuals are likely to be unaware of coverage options available to them under the ACA.
Like many other health centers, Community Medical Centers, La Clinica and LifeLong Medical Care have a longstanding tradition of providing quality medical services to underserved populations, regardless of ability to pay. The Obama administration’s decision to invest in our health centers should be celebrated not only because it makes moral and economic sense but also because it reflects an overarching commitment to health equity and healthy communities.
Congrats to our health centers!
For more information, please visit:
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services www.hhs.gov
Health Resources and Service Administration www.hrsa.gov
Health Insurance Marketplace www.healthcare.gov
Community Medical Centers www.communitymedical.org
La Clinica www.laclinica.org
LifeLong Medical Care www.lifelongmedical.org
Vivian Nguyen is a Community Affairs Intern at Community Clinic Consortium of Contra Costa & Solano Counties. She can be reached at [email protected].
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