Community Health Centers Expand Access to Quality Health Care

While insurance market reforms required by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) get top billing, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reports that the nation’s network of Community Health Centers (CHC) will be a critical element in fulfilling reform’s promise.  Today more than 8,000 CHC’s are the source of primary health services for over 20 million people and are expected to reduce reliance on emergency rooms and providers that do not welcome Medicaid patients. Congress authorized more than $11 billion in funding to support 15,000 new centers expected to provide services for over 20 million new people starting in 2011.